Mission Zero
by Ronin-ai
Summary: Squall has a habit of avoiding his birthday, but Rinoa has decided to change that and concocts a plan to keep him all to herself for his first birthday as her husband. Squall/Rinoa fluffiness, written for the WIB challenge.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Obligatory disclaimer of ownership of any and all characters relating to FF VIII. More notes at the end of the fic.

MISSION ZERO

I.

Squall Leonhart, World Savior, Commander of Balamb Garden and Sorceress Rinoa's Knight, had a problem, one that threatened the very underpinnings of his existence, not to mention his marriage to the aforementioned sorceress.

The problem? It was August.

Until he'd awakened that morning to the fact that it was August first and a Monday, things had been going pretty well for him. He and Rinoa had been married for just a few weeks, had in fact, just returned from their honeymoon the week before.

They were just starting to settle into their lives together, and so far, things were fine. Better than fine; they were wonderful. He was thoroughly enjoying being married to Rinoa, a fact that actually surprised him a little. He never expected to use the word "wonderful" to describe his life. If anything, he figured the word would be "short".

But as he stared glumly at his calendar, he could feel storm clouds gathering on the horizon, threatening to blow apart his perfect happiness. The date he'd dreaded all year was rapidly approaching, and in the rush and confusion of wedding preparations, the wedding itself and the honeymoon, he'd completely forgotten about it. Now, there was no time to arrange an escape, an excuse to be elsewhere when that date arrived. Not one that would be believed, anyway.

_There's still time, _Squall thought desperately. _I have twenty-two days. Surely SOMEBODY will need the SeeD commander to negotiate something, or settle something? Right? Maybe there's a diplomatic thing going on I can volunteer for? A nest of monsters to clear out?_

He searched his appointment calendar but Quistis had been too damn efficient in his absence and all of the SeeDs out on assignment were being disgustingly effective at their jobs.

In short…

"I'm doomed." Squall groaned, looking at the calendar again and glaring at the offending date that mocked him with its very existence.

August 23. His birthday.

* * *

Rinoa stretched and sighed, rolling over to study the empty space beside her that Squall had occupied hours before. She remembered him pulling her to him for a gentle kiss and a whispered, "good morning," before he reluctantly left her side to shower and go to work.

A mental caress from him and an _"I love you,"_ as he left gave her sweet dreams for the remainder of the morning, until she also had to get up and be about her business.

As she got out of bed and showered, she reflected that the last few weeks since the wedding had been perfectly lovely, though they were both still adjusting to actually being _married_.

Oh, there were little snags here and there; Squall's neatness fetish being one of them, but nothing that she couldn't live with. And she had to admit, the concept of_ putting things away _where they belonged once finished with them _did_ make them easier to find later on. And after overhearing some women at a café a few days ago complaining about what slobs their husbands were, she found herself smugly relieved that she'd never have to endure the horrors of coming home to an apartment strewn with dirty socks and underwear.

For the most part however, Rinoa still floated about in the rosy glow of the newly married, feeling as though she was adrift in a waking dream. Her real-life romance didn't necessarily follow the formula of those fairytale fantasies that young girls dream of; it had taken a bit more work before _her_ knight in shining armor had come around and fallen in love with her. But fall he did and she with him…and she couldn't be happier.

Drying her hair as she dressed, she glanced at the calendar. August first. Then her eyes tracked down until she reached a particular date. The twenty-third. Squall's birthday.

_This_ time, she was determined to celebrate it with him. Each year previously, something had come up and he'd be away when the fateful day arrived, leaving her and his friends disappointed in their efforts to commemorate the occasion. After the third time that happened, Rinoa began to see the pattern and suspect it was being done deliberately. By fate at very least if not by Squall himself…though she suspected the latter.

Not this time. Rinoa wasn't fool enough to foist a big surprise party with all of his friends in attendance on him this early in their relationship. Yeah, they'd been together since defeating Ultimecia three years ago, but they hadn't even been married a month, and Rinoa wanted him all to herself on his first birthday as her husband. The big party could wait, if he could be talked into it at some point down the line.

Grabbing Angelo's leash, she took the dog for a walk, using that time to think about what kind of celebration she wanted to do for Squall and how to arrange it.

* * *

Squall finished with his work for the day, feeling slightly disappointed that no major disasters occurred that required his attention. Not even so much as a paper cut. He sighed, knowing that in his line of work, boredom was a _good_ thing, yet still wishing that something would happen. _Anything_, just as long as it got him out of Balamb on August twenty-third.

Then Rinoa greeted him with a sweet smile and an ardent kiss the moment he walked through the door, and he began to rethink that.

"How was work?" She asked him softly, distracting him with another kiss as her busy fingers began working at his uniform tunic.

"Boring." Squall answered, smiling as he felt her mind brushing his, her intentions plain.

"_I was only gone eight hours Rin," _he sent in amusement, allowing her entrance.

"_Eight long, lonely hours, with me wishing you were home to finish what you started this morning." _ Rinoa sent, fingers trailing lightly up his bare chest after undoing the last button on his shirt.

Squall paused, "I thought you were going to talk to Dr. Kadowaki about working as her assistant?"

Rinoa sighed, "She was too busy to do it today. We set up an appointment for tomorrow."

"_Now hush,"_ she added mentally. _"I need my husband right now."_

Squall almost laughed at that, but held off. She was telling him to _hush_? It wasn't too long ago that she despaired of ever getting more than a couple of words out of him at a stretch. Then his amusement faded as Rinoa began trailing feathery light kisses down his neck and chest.

He couldn't help but respond to what she was doing, her desire fed into him and kindled his own passion. Not that he needed much encouragement in that area anyway. Squall threaded his fingers through her dark, silky hair and gave himself up to it, to _her_, kissing her deeply.

He melded his lips to hers, tasting her sweetness as his tongue swept in to tease and tantalize. Thoughts and emotions flowed between them, as their bodies, minds and hearts became one. As always, Squall lost himself in her, swept away on the tide of passion as he made love with her, and he knew she felt the same.

And as always, when they made love, magic happened.

He felt the slow build as he loved her, stoked the tension with each stroke, kiss, caress, and felt his body answering hers in kind. He ushered it along, setting a pace that built to a powerful, mutually satisfying release, leaving them both shuddering in its wake. Leaving Rinoa's eyes glowing an incandescent gold as a result of that power.

"So," Squall smiled down at her, "How was _your_ day?"

Rinoa reached up and stroked her fingers through his hair, causing him to sigh and close his eyes at the sensation. Then he bent forward and gave her a soft, sweet kiss.

"Well," She finally answered, "aside from pestering Dr. Kadowaki, it was boring and lonely."

"Well, I'm sure she'll keep you busy," Squall said. Rinoa opened her mouth to reply when an audible growl from Squall's midsection surprised her into a laugh instead. His soft laugh echoed hers.

"I guess I should do something about dinner, shouldn't I?" Rinoa asked him.

"Should I be worried?" Squall asked her in turn, eyes twinkling.

"Oh, stop!" Rinoa said, smacking his backside lightly. She pouted until Squall kissed her again, this time with an equal measure of sweetness and heat. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, letting him feel how happy she was, and how much she loved him.

"How about I help you?" Squall asked her.

"Okay." She answered. Squall obligingly moved off of her, causing Rinoa to sigh as they disengaged from each other physically.

She lay on the bed for a moment watching him dress, and feeling his amusement at her fascination.

"_Are you going to get dressed?" _Squall sent as he pulled on a t-shirt. _"Or are you going to keep staring at me like a hungry lioness? You keep doing that, I'll have to jump back into bed with you and we'll go hungry."_

"_I'm sorry, I just can't get enough of your sexy self." _ Rinoa sent, smiling.

"Well," Squall said, stalking back to the bed, eyes intense. "If you want _more_ of my sexy self, I need to refuel. Otherwise you'll wear me away to nothing, and how sexy would _that_ be?"

Upon reaching the bed, he leaned over it and Rinoa, placing his hands on either side of her body. Then he bent down and gave her a breath-stealing kiss.

When they came up for air, Rinoa said smugly, "I don't hear you complaining."

Straightening up, Squall took both of her hands and urged her to her feet, saying, "And you won't either. In fact," he added with a wolfish grin that would have done Irvine credit, "if you cook me dinner naked, I'll never complain again!"

Rinoa burst out laughing, then asked him archly, "promise?"

* * *

"Thanks for taking lunch with me Quistis." Rinoa said as they picked out their table in the cafeteria. She would have liked to go into Balamb and her favorite café, but Quistis only had an hour.

"Thanks for inviting me. Is everything going okay between you and Squall?" Quistis asked. Then she laughed quietly as Rinoa's cheeks turned pink. Obviously, things for the newlyweds were going pretty well, if one went by Rinoa's blush.

Squall wasn't quite as obvious, at least not to those who didn't know him well, but to those who _did_, his happiness was plain to see as well. Quistis couldn't be more thrilled for the both of them.

"Oh, yes… they're going wonderfully." Rinoa said, starting to take a bite of her lunch.

"Glad to hear it." Quistis said.

"I _am_ a little worried about one thing though." Rinoa said with a frown.

"Oh? What is it?" Quistis asked her, concerned.

"Well, we've been together now for about three years and…. well, I've never had the chance to celebrate Squall's birthday with him. Can you make sure he doesn't get sent off somewhere this year?" Rinoa asked, biting her lip.

"I don't actually have much control over that Rinoa. It's usually between Squall and Cid as to who gets assigned where." Quistis answered her.

Rinoa sighed, saying sadly, "So he's doing it deliberately."

"Doing what?" Quistis asked her, concerned.

"Making sure he's off somewhere, using his job as an excuse to avoid celebrating his birthday." Rinoa picked at her lunch dispiritedly, wondering if he'd do the same thing again this year. Wondering how she could change that.

Quistis gave her a look full of sympathy, "he's always done that."

"Why?" Rinoa asked.

Quistis shrugged, "as you know, he isn't terribly forthcoming concerning things like that."

Rinoa snorted ruefully, "I know." Then she sighed, "I wish I knew how to prevent that from happening this year."

"Hmm," Quistis paused, frowning in concentration. "Maybe I can have a talk with Headmaster Cid about it."

Rinoa smiled brilliantly at her and sighed, "Oh, _would_ you? I know Cid's a nice man, but I …I don't know… I don't want to interfere in Squall's work and I'd just feel awkward asking Cid something like that. And what if something really important comes up that only Squall can handle?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about that Rinoa, nothing much is going on anyway. In fact," Quistis laughed, "I think that was why he seemed so concerned about who was doing what and if there was anything that might need his attention yesterday."

Rinoa's expression darkened at this and she grumbled, "You know, I'm trying really hard not to take this personally…"

Quistis reached over and covered Rinoa's hand with her own and urged her, "Please don't. He's _always_ been like this about his birthday. Just keep being your sweet, loving self and he'll come around. I _know_ he will."

Rinoa sighed again, "If you say so." She pushed her lunch around again and ventured to take another bite of the cooling meal.

"I know so. He's already grown well beyond what he was like when you first met him." Quistis said.

"I didn't set out to try and _change_ him," Rinoa said, frowning again. She really _didn't_. That sort of thing rarely worked anyway. If you couldn't love someone the way they were, there was no point in trying to change them into someone that you _could_ love.

"You didn't. He changed himself. You loved him out of his shell Rinoa." Quistis smiled at her, and added, "keep doing what you're doing, and be patient with him. It's worked so far, hasn't it?"

"Yes." Rinoa replied, smiling at the memory of how well her patience had _already_ been rewarded lately.

"Great! Maybe you won't have to do anything at all and you'll have him to yourself anyway." Quistis said.

"But, what if something _does_ happen and he gets called out?" Rinoa asked, her apprehension returning.

"Leave that to me." Quistis said. Then she gave Rinoa a conspiratorial smile and a wink.

* * *

Squall checked his schedule just as he had daily, frowning at the date that was approaching rapidly. Still nothing going on, though oddly, that didn't bother him quite as much as it had at the beginning of the month. Nor did the prospect of being home with Rinoa on his birthday.

Not entirely, at any rate. She'd been so sweet to him these last couple of weeks; he was beginning to feel like a selfish jerk, even though he hadn't actually _done_ anything yet. Leaving her alone for yet another year, having to see those big brown eyes fill with unshed tears of worry and fear for him as he left…

Squall sighed. No, he was right to feel like a selfish jerk. He'd been monstrously unfair to her regarding his birthday issues. He wouldn't even talk to her about it. He _couldn't_. It was just too stupid to be believed. And while she _could_ have simply plucked it out of his mind if she so desired, the fact that she respected his privacy and did _not_ simply made things worse for him.

He was stuck. He was coming to the realization that he really _didn't_ want to go anywhere and leave Rinoa alone on yet another birthday, this one doubly special, as it was his first as her husband. And yet, at the same time, he really didn't want to _celebrate_ it either. What was there to celebrate anyway? The whole concept of celebrating the day that you were born was ludicrous (happy birthday Squall, you survived one more year! Yay! Ugh.). And besides that, Squall simply _hated_ parties.

No, if he was stuck at home, maybe he'd just take off with Rinoa and spend the evening out with her or something. He could handle that. In fact…

_RRRIIINGG! _

Squall suppressed a sigh and answered his phone. "Yes?"

"Squall?" Headmaster Cid's voice came over the handset. "Could you come up to my office?"

"Yes, sir. I'll be right there." Squall said, getting up, wondering as he did what Cid wanted from him.

It didn't take long for him to find out. The door to Cid's office was open and Squall didn't even have to knock when Cid bade him to enter.

"You wanted to see me sir?" Squall asked, entering the room and stopping in front of the headmaster's desk at parade rest, alert and ready.

"Yes Squall, I did." Cid acknowledged, then opened the center drawer of his desk and pulled out a folder, adding, "I have an assignment for you." With that, he dropped the folder on his desk and pushed it toward Squall.

_An assignment? But there wasn't anything pending, no prospective hires, NOTHING… _Squall hesitated a moment, staring at the folder and feeling his heart sink lower and lower as he did. Now that he had exactly what thought he wanted staring him in the face, he realized that it wasn't what he wanted at all.

_Be careful what you wish for… _the proverb leaped into his mind as he slowly reached his hand out to take the folder.

He opened it, intending to read the prospectus, when Cid said, "I just received this today, and you were specifically requested. Its short term, just one week, but challenging. Enough, I think, to offer a break in the monotony for you at any rate."

Squall didn't reply. He simply read the contents of the folder with no sign of his feelings aside from a slight frown knitting his eyebrows. He was too professional to display his disappointment at being sent off just as he was realizing that he really didn't want to go after all. A week without Rinoa? _Not_ his idea of a good time, that was for sure.

Still, it was his job, and Cid had assigned this particular hire to him. Then he narrowed his eyes. It didn't appear to be that difficult of an assignment either, leading him to wonder why they needed _him_ when just about _any_ SeeD would do.

Oh well, at least he shouldn't have too much trouble getting it over with and getting home. Then he remembered something, and only just managed not to smile as he did.

"Squall?" Cid asked, "Do you have any questions?"

"No sir. But I _do_ have a request." Squall answered.

"What is it?" Cid asked him curiously.

"I would like to bring Rinoa along as tactical support." Squall answered.

Cid's jaw dropped and he wondered for a moment if Squall was onto his scheme. He only just managed to pull himself together without (he hoped) giving anything away.

"Squall, Rinoa's not a SeeD. It goes counter to SeeD protocol to bring close family members and spouses along on missions." Cid said, attempting to discourage him.

"I know. But Rinoa's also a member of Garden's infirmary staff, and as such her presence fits within standard mission parameters. Her relationship to me is irrelevant. And as she will be acting in a supporting capacity only, the fact that she is not a SeeD is also irrelevant." Squall stated.

Cid's jaw clicked shut as he considered that. Then he nodded.

"Very well. You both ship out in three days."

Squall saluted smartly and said, "Yes sir."

He turned and left the office, taking the folder with him. Cid watched him go, lips twitching at the corners. Then he got up, closed the door, and returned to his desk, picking up the phone and dialing a number.

"Quistis?" He spoke into the handset. "I just spoke to Squall, and he's thrown a little bit of a…well I wouldn't call it a _wrench_, really, more of a _wrinkle_, into our plans. He's requested Rinoa as his tactical support for this assignment."

He laughed at Quistis' indistinct response and said, "Yes, I think it'll work out even better than we'd planned."

He rang off soon after and returned his gaze to the door that Squall had just exited through, eyes twinkling and a smile playing about his lips. Canny though his young commander might be (and Cid ought to know, he'd lost at chess with him enough), it was thoroughly amusing to think of Squall being outmaneuvered by his wife.

* * *

Rinoa pulled the results from her latest cooking attempt from Quistis' oven and studied it dubiously. It _looked_ okay, it wasn't _burned_ anyway, but…

"Is it supposed to look like that Quistis?" Rinoa asked, biting her lip.

The item in question was a cake, Rinoa's third attempt since the beginning of the month. Quistis had been patiently teaching her how to bake, and so far she was making progress, but it was frustratingly slow.

Quistis touched the top of the cake lightly and frowned when it didn't spring back like it should have. It was properly browned, but it seemed….flat.

"Well, it smells okay, and you didn't burn it," Quistis said, frowning. Then she took a toothpick and poked it into the center of the cake. She studied the toothpick when she removed it, and then set it aside.

"I got the timing right, didn't I?" Rinoa asked.

"Yes…" Quistis said, setting the pan aside to cool. "It looks like it might have fallen though. We'll see how it turned out when it's cooled."

"Fallen? What do you mean?" Rinoa asked.

"I'm sure it'll taste okay Rinoa, but are you certain that you even want to do a cake?" Quistis asked her.

"Well… I don't…. I mean, isn't a birthday supposed to have a cake?" Rinoa replied, puzzled.

"Not really. If it's your birthday, you can have anything you want. That's the whole point. Do you even know if Squall wants a cake or what kind he likes?" Quistis responded.

Rinoa fell silent, thinking, then she finally answered in a small voice, "No, I don't."

She sighed and left the kitchen and sat down at the small table in Quistis' dining room. She thought back at all the times that she'd managed to persuade Squall to attend his friends' birthday parties (and they were fewer than she'd thought, though more than there had been in the past). And she really couldn't remember him displaying any interest in the cakes that had been served. He hadn't avoided them completely but also didn't appear to have cared one way or the other about them. In short, Squall didn't seem care much for sweets.

_That_ part she _did_ remember him telling her about.

"Now that I think about it," Rinoa groaned, "I'm not even sure he _likes_ cake."

"Well then," Quistis said encouragingly, "Maybe you should fix something that he _does_ like."

"Yeah," Rinoa sighed. "No sense in going to the trouble to bake and frost a cake if he's not going to eat it or anything like that…"

"Well, I'm sure he'll appreciate the effort anyway," Quistis said, while thinking privately that he damned well _better_…. or he'd answer to _her_.

"Yeah…" Rinoa began, then Quistis' phone rang.

She excused herself to go answer it while Rinoa pondered her somewhat minor dilemma. In the back of her mind, she sensed Squall thinking about something that seemed to bother him but he was shielding so she didn't know what it was. Whatever it was, he appeared to have decided something because that sense of disquiet from him faded.

She wondered what she would do, if a cake weren't in the cards. In truth, she was a little relieved; cakes, even ones made from a boxed mix, weren't all that easy to make. Not for _her_ anyway. Oh, she could read and follow directions just fine. But for some reason she'd ended up with one cake burned, another only half-baked, and this third one…she got up and went into the kitchen, checking it. Yup. It was a brick.

She leaned against the kitchen counter with a sigh, thinking about what Squall might like instead.

Quistis found her there and said, "That was Cid. Mission Zero is a go. _And_," she added, eyes twinkling from the conspiratorial smile she wore, "Squall asked Cid to include you as tactical support."

Rinoa looked up at her, startled, and couldn't stop a huge smile from spreading across her face. "Really?"

"Really. Don't worry about the cake Rin. He's all yours regardless." Quistis grinned at her.

Rinoa laughed at that, then suddenly remembered something. Squall's move to include her on this latest mission of his reminded her of the occasion that brought him to make that promise to her. She seemed to remember chocolate chip cookies being involved in that situation in some fashion (though her memory was a little fuzzy on that…all she remembered with any clarity was their lovemaking that night).

She did remember however, how _impressed_ he'd been that she had, with Ellone's help of course, managed to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies for him. And he'd enjoyed them, and _her_, thoroughly. Then she had it. Forget the cake. She'd bake him a cookie instead. A _big_ cookie.

"Hey, Quistis? I have an idea…"


	2. Chapter 2: II

**II**.

The Ragnarok dropped them off just outside of Winhill, leaving them to walk along the dusty road leading into town. It was a lovely summer morning, the season just starting to ripen toward fall. Flowers bloomed in a riot of color along each side of the road, and everywhere fields and gardens were busy bringing forth their bounty in preparation of the harvest to come.

Squall had slung his duffel over his shoulder while Lion Heart rode at his hip, and Rinoa walked alongside, carrying her own duffel and weapon. Angelo trotted ahead, sniffing here and there at whatever caught his fancy. He glanced over at her and couldn't help a small smile at the entranced expression she wore as they walked.

She always surprised him. He'd thought that she'd be upset or disillusioned that he had an assignment just days before his birthday. He supposed that holding to his promise to her, and bringing her along as his tactical support had mitigated her disappointment. Indeed, the sense he got from her was far from disappointed.

Instead, she seemed…. happy. And…Squall frowned slightly as he caught an undercurrent of smugness. He bent his thoughts toward her and was surprised when she gently raised her barriers.

"_Tsk! Tsk!" _ She sent. _"No peeking!"_

Squall studied her for a moment, confused, and she gave him a sunny smile in return. He shrugged slightly and directed his attention to their surroundings, scanning them alertly while they walked toward the town.

"So commander, what's our first order of business?" Rinoa asked him. He glanced over at her again, wondering at her mood, then decided not to worry about it. At least she was approaching their assignment with a good attitude.

"We make contact with the mercenaries that were hired to protect the town to let them know we've arrived." Squall answered.

Rinoa nodded and asked, "Okay, then what?"

"Then we check into our room and get settled in, eat lunch, then go on a patrol. Shouldn't be anything too tough to handle here unless we run into a wendigo or something." Squall answered.

Rinoa snorted, "like you can't handle a dozen wendigos all by yourself."

"I can with you as my backup," Squall replied, giving her a warm smile.

Rinoa couldn't help smiling back at him. Squall's smiles were rare but much more in evidence now than they had been in the past. And she felt like she was melting inside every time she saw it. It made her happy to see that beautiful, precious expression on his face.

It had surprised her when she'd learned he'd requested that she come along with him on this "mission". The original plan had been for her to go in advance of him and surprise him at the hotel. She hadn't considered that he'd actually follow through on his vow that he'd take her with him on any future assignments. She knew now that Squall kept his promises, but couldn't recall him actually _saying _" I promise" when they'd talked about it. So it had been both pleasant and humbling to learn that he'd taken very much to heart what they'd discussed regarding their bond all those weeks ago.

Squall of course was taking this assignment seriously, as Rinoa had figured he would. This in spite of the fact that it would be dead easy for him. The monsters that populated the area around Winhill for the most part weren't too much of a challenge for a warrior or Squall's caliber, but that's just what Rinoa wanted. She wanted him _stimulated_, not stressed. Challenged but not to the point of injury.

He might have thought something was up if it hadn't actually been a legitimate assignment, albeit one that could have been handled by any available SeeD. There was no real need to send out the Commander himself to cover for a couple of former _almost_ SeeDs that had the misfortune to run afoul of one of the few wendigos that populated the area.

But it had presented itself as a perfect opportunity and Rinoa was glad that Quistis had gotten Cid to go along with it.

They were just passing the shop owned by a crotchety little old man that they had some slight acquaintance with (in Squall's case, as slight as possible, as the fellow was more than a little unpleasant to him), when Squall took a slight turn down a side street and stopped at what looked like a boarding house.

The door was opened at his knock by what Squall assumed was the landlady, a plump, matronly woman, who asked them, "Can I help you?"

"We're here to see your resident monster hunters." Squall answered.

The woman raised one eyebrow and asked, "And who might you be? Those boys are still recovering, so you'll have to keep the visit short."

"Understood. My name is Squall, and I'll be taking over their duties while they're recuperating." Squall responded. Then he indicated Rinoa and added, "This is Rinoa."

The woman studied them both for a moment, then shrugged. "Come on in. I'll let 'em know you're here." She opened the door wider and stood aside to allow them entrance.

Then she shut it behind them and walked further into the cottage, saying, "Wait here a moment."

Squall nodded in acknowledgement and crossed his arms over his chest, shifting his stance so that Lion Heart's handle was in easy reach…and the weapon itself very visible. He glanced over at Rinoa, who was gazing around the home with interest. She caught his eye and gave him a slight smile.

At length a tapping along the wood-floored hallway alerted them to someone's approach, the noise originating from the wooden crutch supporting the young man that limped toward them. He leaned heavily upon the crutch, holding it with one arm, while the other hung in a sling about his neck.

"Hi, I'm Jason." He said. Then he asked, frowning, "You're the SeeDs taking over for me and Terry?"

"Yes." Squall answered. Then he indicated himself and then Rinoa, saying, "I'm Squall. This is Rinoa."

The young man squinted at them, trying to remember why his two visitors seemed so familiar. It was hard to think around his headache however.

"How's your partner?" Rinoa asked.

"Resting. He's not as mobile as I am. Broke his left leg in three places, broke three ribs, and he got a pretty bad concussion." Jason answered.

"_Squall? Should I…?"_ Rinoa sent.

"_If you like. It'll get them back into action quicker." _ Squall responded.

"_They'll still need to rest for a few days even with a cure spell."_ Rinoa thought.

"_I know. But that's what we're here for anyway. Go ahead."_ Squall encouraged her.

"Jason?" Rinoa asked, directing his attention to her. "Would you mind if I visited with your partner?"

"He's asleep right now, I don't see why you'd want to see him…" The former cadet said, frowning.

"Rinoa's here as my tactical support. She's part of the infirmary staff at Balamb Garden and has been trained in first aid and emergency medical care. She's particularly skilled with both conventional and magical cures." Squall informed him.

"Oh. He's back there then." Jason nodded back down the hallway. "Last door on the left."

"Okay," Rinoa said, heading down the hallway.

After she left the young man squinted at Squall again and asked, "Have you been here before? You look familiar."

"Yes." Squall answered simply, but did not elaborate. He felt a rush of power as Rinoa cast the cure spell to heal the other injured man.

She returned to Squall's side soon after and looked up into Jason's face, asking him "Would you like me to heal you as well?" At his nod, she added, "Okay. You will need to rest a few days yet however, so we'll stay as long as we're needed while you both recover your strength."

Before she could cast the spell however, Squall stopped her. "Wait a moment Rinoa. I need some information first." Turning to Jason, Squall said, "I need the details of your patrol routes and schedules."

"Mornings, just after dawn we do a full perimeter up to the main road. Mid afternoon we do just the town proper. Evenings, another full perimeter just before dusk. Mostly we would run into funguar and the caterchipillars, with the occasional cockatrice. Terry and I have been here for years and I think this is the first wendigo we'd ever encountered." Jason supplied.

Rinoa looked over at Squall and he nodded. It was sufficient for their needs. It was also the same route that Laguna had taken when he'd performed those same duties here more than twenty years ago. He felt her power stir again as she cast the healing spell on Jason.

"I remember now! You're Squall Leonhart!" The man exclaimed as the spell took effect and healed his injuries. "They sent _you_?" He asked incredulously, "How do we rate?"

Squall shrugged but declined comment, and Rinoa spoke up, "We just happened to be available. Now," she said firmly, "I want you to go lie down and get as much rest as possible. I've healed your injuries, but your body's going to need to catch up a little bit. Speed healing tends to burn up a lot of resources."

"I know," the young man said, starting to yawn. "I don't know how you SeeDs do it all the time. Guess that's why I washed out." He stood up straight and cautiously rested his full weight upon the leg that had been injured and sighed in relief. Then he flexed the arm in the sling, removing it in the process.

He smiled over at Rinoa and said, "Thank you Rinoa…Heartilly is it?"

She smiled back and brushed her hair back from her face with her left hand, the wedding band on its third finger clearly visible, saying, "You're welcome, and it's Leonhart now." She dropped the hand and threaded her fingers through Squall's.

He chuckled and said, "Congratulations. I hadn't heard. Kind of hard to keep up with the news in this little backwater, but that's kind of what Terry and I like about it."

"Thank you," Rinoa smiled at him. "Now go get some rest. We'll handle things from here."

"All right. Thanks again, both of you." Jason sketched a wave at them both, picked up his now unneeded crutch, and walked back to his room.

* * *

They checked into the hotel after visiting the two injured monster hunters, with Squall being somewhat taken aback that the concierge recognized him, greeting he and Rinoa by name.

"Commander Leonhart! Mrs. Leonhart! Welcome! We have your room ready just as you requested. Please sign here and Joey will show you to your room." The concierge said effusively.

Squall signed the register and frowned at Rinoa, who shrugged at his expression and said innocently, "You can't expect to be _completely_ anonymous anymore Squall. Not after all that you've done so far."

"All _we've_ done. You were there too. And so were Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, and Zell. It wasn't all just me." Squall said. Then he glared icily at the bellhop when he reached for Squall's duffel bag.

"Here," Rinoa said, taking pity on the poor fellow when he gulped and backed away by handing him her bag instead.

He gave her a relieved smile as he took it and said, "Follow me please."

They fell into step with each other as they followed the man to their room, with Rinoa saying, "I know that Squall. But that's not all and you know it. Our wedding was all over the news just a few weeks ago, not to mention that project you did in Esthar just prior to it. Obviously news about all of that even made it here." Then she laughed and added, "If you ever start getting tired of all that adulation and respect, you can always go visit the grumpy grandpa's store."

"If I ever feel the need of a dose of humility, I'll make it a point to go." Squall said wryly.

Threading her arm through Squall's, Rinoa sighed, "You do have to admit that for the most part, it's rather a nice change from when we first came here. At least they aren't as hostile toward us."

"I guess it doesn't hurt that everyone now knows I was born here." Squall said.

"You really _were_ born here? I thought that was just a rumor," The young bellman asked, eyes wide.

"Yes." Squall answered curtly.

"Do you have any family here?" the bellman asked curiously.

"No." _None living at any rate,_ Squall thought, recalling Raine's gravestone. He hadn't been back to Winhill since the first time he'd seen it. He hadn't seen any point to coming back.

"Oh," the man said, nonplussed. "I ….um… Well. Here we are then." He added with obvious relief, opening the door to the suite, preceding them in and placing Rinoa's belongings on the floor.

Squall gazed about the lavish accommodations, which included a kitchenette complete with oven and stove, a sitting room and a positively decadent appearing master bedroom/bath combo.

"Is this the right room?" Squall asked with a frown. "Seems rather a bit much for the job we're doing…"

"It _is_ the room that was reserved for you sir." The bellman answered, asking Squall in turn, "Is there anything wrong?"

Squall shook his head, answering absently, "No, it's fine, thank you." Then he fished out a small handful of gil and tipped the man.

After the bellman left, Rinoa gazed around the room with a sigh, and Squall caught another hint of smug satisfaction coming from her. Feeling his curiosity at that, Rinoa simply smiled at him, eyes sparkling with mischief.

"_What's going on in that devious little mind of yours?" _ Squall sent, watching her as she turned up the wattage on her smile, sashayed up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"_That's for me to know, and you to find out." _ She responded. She tightened up her mental barriers so that her emotions weren't leaking anymore, disappointing Squall a little.

Tightening his arms around her, Squall studied her face intently, his own smile starting to sneak out despite his best efforts, and asked, "Will I enjoy the finding out part?"

"I hope you will," Rinoa answered, her smile becoming wistful.

"I'm assuming us getting this suite rather than the standard, and far _cheaper_, single has something to do with it?" Squall asked her.

"It does." Rinoa answered.

"Did you book the room then?" Squall asked, leaning his face closer to hers.

Rinoa's mouth went dry as she gazed up into his eyes. They were lit with both warmth and amusement…. and a shrewd intelligence that was foolish indeed to overlook. Not for the first time, she wondered if his interrogation techniques were actually _learned_ or an innate talent that his training as a SeeD had simply magnified. Whichever it was, Rinoa sincerely hoped that he reserved _this_ particular technique only for her.

She licked her lips and answered, "I…uh… may have…mentioned something to Cid about it…" Then she clamped her lips shut. If she said anything else, he'd figure it out. Squall wasn't stupid.

"Really? And why would you do that, precisely?" Squall asked her, leaning closer still and letting his voice drop to a husky murmur.

His lips were just a breath away from hers, and Rinoa could clearly see the wicked glint in his eyes. He knew what he was doing to her and was deriving a great deal of enjoyment from the opportunity to tease her that she'd presented to him like a gift. She'd handed it to him on a silver platter all gift-wrapped and with a pretty bow on top. She was in real trouble now, and if she didn't do something about it, she'd be blabbing about everything she'd planned from the get-go. When Squall got both seductive _and_ persistent, Rinoa's resistance was nonexistent.

Then a thought struck her and she nearly laughed. It was so simple and elegant (and to a certain extent, even true), that there was no way that Squall could ferret out the _true_ reason that they'd ended up in this particular room rather than the standard one that SeeDs in town would normally take.

Widening her eyes and pouting slightly (and clamping down on her shields again as her amusement threatened to bubble over) Rinoa breathed softly, "Squall Leonhart, _surely_ you're not going to tell me that the honeymoon's over _already_ are you?"

Of course, there was only one real answer to that question, and Squall opted for the non-verbal route. He tightened his arms around her, pulling her close against him, and kissed her thoroughly, leaving her breathless and clinging to him.

"What do _you_ think?" He finally asked her, smiling gently.

Rinoa smiled back, "that I'm incredibly lucky."

Squall laughed softly and rested his forehead against hers for a moment, then sobered, saying "we'd better get unpacked and get lunch so we can do the evening patrol."

Rinoa sighed, "I know, we're here to work."

Squall smiled at her again, then stepped away and picked up Rinoa's bag, saying, "That's right. And it's a perfect opportunity for us to practice working together." He carried their bags into the bedroom and put them on the bed.

Rinoa followed, frowning, "Practice? What do you mean? I thought we already pretty much had that down."

"Well," Squall began, unzipping Rinoa's bag and raising an eyebrow at the jumble inside. Rinoa simply folded her arms and raised her chin defiantly. Squall snorted slightly and continued, "We do, and very well too. What I'm referring to is our mind link. That brings a whole new dimension to it and can potentially be a very powerful tool. I'd like us to get used to using it in battle. The monsters here aren't that challenging, not even as tough as the ones in the Training Center."

He opened the dresser drawer and began carefully transferring items from Rinoa's bag to the drawer, going so far as to actually sort and refold some of the items. Rinoa rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Approaching him, she gently slapped his hands away from her bag and said, "Unpack your own bag. I'll deal with this." Then she defiantly grabbed a double handful of shirts and tossed them into the drawer, repeating the process until it was overflowing, then pushing the clothing down and shoving the drawer closed.

Squall, torn between amusement and consternation, wisely kept silent while concentrating on quickly and efficiently unpacking his own clothing.

Once they had completed that small task, and Rinoa had time to think about what Squall had said regarding their mind link, she replied, "I'm sure it _could_ be a powerful tool. The trick will be figuring out just _how_ it might be used."

"Well, that's where practice comes in. Are you about ready for lunch?" Squall asked her. At Rinoa's nod he reached out and took her hand, and they both headed downstairs to the café in the lobby.

* * *

"This is such a picturesque little place. Great place to raise kids," Rinoa sighed as they started on their patrol.

"Except for the monsters, I guess that's true." Squall replied.

Rinoa snorted, "Yeah, I guess that's a little inconvenient, having to worry about patrolling the borders for nasty bugaboos on a thrice daily basis. You ever wonder why they're so infernally insistent upon invading this town? Timber doesn't have nearly as many problems with their monster population."

"Probably because the Galbadian invasion killed a lot of them, and big-game tourists do a pretty good job of keeping the numbers down. Laguna's told me that Esthar's monster population has led to the inadvertent development of a tourist industry there. Hunters out for challenging big game flock to it. No reason the same thing couldn't hold true for Timber as well." Squall said.

"Obviously, that's not the case here." Rinoa said as they walked.

"No. There aren't a lot of different species, what's here isn't very challenging, and Winhill's residents don't much care for tourists in general." Squall explained.

"They're challenging enough for people here to hire mercenaries to protect them." Rinoa commented.

"I didn't say the monsters here weren't _dangerous_, but if you have the tools and the know-how, they aren't that hard to kill." Squall responded. Then he added, "Besides, nobody here hired those guys to protect the town. Laguna did. Which, now that I think about it, it isn't so surprising he'd ask for me to cover for his guys."

Rinoa glanced over at Squall, startled. Then she shook her head ruefully, thinking, _why do I keep forgetting how smart he is?_ Cid had told her Laguna had done exactly that, framing his request in such a way that if Squall _wasn't_ available, any qualified SeeD that _was_ would serve.

Then she laughed softly, "You still call him Laguna."

"Habit, I guess. Yes, I know he's my father, and it's easy to remember that when I'm in Esthar visiting." Squall said.

"But when you're working for him, it's different, isn't it?" Rinoa asked.

"Little bit, yeah." Squall answered.

They walked through the town in silence, watching for any invading creatures. So far, all was quiet but Squall and Rinoa stayed alert for anything or anyone that might require their attention.

"So, how do you plan on doing this anyway, using our mindlink in battle?" Rinoa wondered.

"Well, just link up and see how it goes I guess. It'll make communication easier, and quicker, I know that. It'll make it easier to coordinate our battle strategies too." Squall explained.

Rinoa frowned, considering that. It _would_ help with battle strategy. However, there was also the chance that information that Rinoa did not want Squall to know _yet_ would bleed into their link. She was getting better with her mental disciplines, but Squall had far outstripped her in that area. She _still_ didn't know how he managed not to let anything leak through to her that he didn't want her to know.

Well, that was what this _practice_ was all about… not just working on the physical aspects of battle, but the mental ones as well. Something that Rinoa sometimes forgot about.

She puzzled over her dilemma a little before deciding that it would only be a problem if she allowed it to be one. In the heat of battle, they would be linked at a different level than when they were being more intimate. Personal thoughts, concerns would be pushed aside in favor of the immediacy of fighting.

They had just left the town proper and were wending their way toward the fields on the outskirts of town when they were attacked by a large caterchipillar. The giant slug-like creature wasn't too dangerous, and would be the perfect opponent to test Squall's mindlink battle strategy on.

As Squall calmly dodged its initial attack, he sent, _ "Rin, cast regen and protect on both of us, then attack it with your shooting star. I'll attack from the side while its attention is on you." _

"_Right," _Rinoa acknowledged. They had both linked without even thinking about it, and Rinoa was amazed at how quickly Squall had adapted to that new aspect of their relationship. Of course, the fact that it enhanced their lovemaking to a literally mind-blowing degree certainly didn't hurt Squall's willingness to explore it.

And it _did_ help in the fight, she found, as he sent her directions and she sent him information with the speed of a thought. She knew how much space he needed for his attack and was able to give that to him without him having to tell her. She was able to tell him of a weak spot on the creature that he had missed because it was on her side of the monster. It was much easier to coordinate their attacks, with Squall telling her to focus on casting magic and allowing him to do the bulk of the physical fighting.

The caterchipillar was killed easily. Once Squall had learned what he'd needed to from using their mind link during the fight, it had only taken one good, solid blow from his Lion Heart to finish it off.

"Well," Squall said smugly, leaning his gunblade back onto his shoulder. "That worked out rather well, wouldn't you say?" He silently gestured with his head for them to continue and they kept walking, headed toward the farthest border of Winhill.

"I would. It certainly makes it easier for us to work together and pool our talents." Rinoa agreed.

"Now, I wonder where that pesky wendigo went?" Squall asked thoughtfully.

"Shouldn't we practice a bit more on the caterchipillars first?" Rinoa asked him.

"If any turn up," He answered.

Rinoa shrugged and they continued along the dirt lane. So far, there didn't seem to be too many monsters about for them to fight, and she began enjoying the walk as a result. They'd maintained their mental contact, keeping the link open but only at a surface level so as to avoid being distracted by anything deeper.

They had just reached the farthest edge of Winhill's boundary when they heard a scream. Squall and Rinoa exchanged a glance and immediately readied their weapons and raced toward the sound.

"Find them Angelo!" Rinoa ordered. The dog bolted ahead and Rinoa followed, Squall loping alongside.

Angelo dashed off the trail and into a copse of trees, leading them to a clearing near a small spring. A little girl of perhaps five was screaming and cowering in the middle of it, a basket of berries tumbled at her feet. A large caterchipillar was advancing slowly toward her, and the reason she hadn't simply run away became apparent as Squall and Rinoa grew closer and saw the webbing that had ensnared the child.

"_Take care of her Rin," _Squall sent as he charged the creature.

The fight was over in moments, and afterward Squall approached Rinoa and the little girl asking, "are you all right?"

The girl seemed unhurt but was crying too hard to answer coherently. She clung to Rinoa, shuddering, while Rinoa made quiet soothing noises.

"_Rin?" _Squall prompted.

"She's fine Squall, just scared. Give her a moment." Rinoa told him.

"_She shouldn't have strayed off the trail alone," _Squall sent, frowning. He looked around to see if there was any evidence of the girl's parents nearby but didn't see anything.

"_Maybe she lives nearby. When she's calmed down enough I'll ask her." _ Rinoa responded privately.

Squall nodded and kept watch for any other creatures that might decide to attack in the meantime. He waited, patient and alert, while Rinoa comforted the little girl and learned from her that she did indeed live nearby and had decided to go pick some berries for her mother. Rinoa then helped her retrieve the berries that had spilled from her basket and escorted the child home, Squall silently guarding their rear.

Once they had returned the girl to her home and effusively grateful mother, they continued on their patrol. They encountered a couple more caterchipillars but nothing more, and each time they worked more smoothly together. By the time they neared the end of their patrol, Squall was feeling very confident in their ability to work together and was very glad indeed that it appeared to be going so well.

It was _not_ however, perfect.

That was discovered when they were attacked simultaneously by two caterchipillars and a cockatrice. They both dodged the attacks easily enough, but then found themselves surrounded.

Standing back to back with Rinoa, Squall sent, _"Can you give me eyes to the rear?"_

"_Yes." _ She answered and opened the link further, allowing Squall to see through her eyes. She had already cast protection spells upon the both of them, and was ready with a silence spell to cast on the cockatrice before it could employ its own magic.

But the sudden flood of information into his mind from Rinoa left Squall disoriented as he tried to sort out what _he_ was seeing and what _she_ was sending him. It gave him a weird kind of double vision; a result of the visual information from his own eyes, coupled with what Rinoa saw. It left him struggling to interpret that information so that he could act upon it.

It cost him precious moments and allowed the caterchipillar an opening, spraying its webbing all over him before attacking and knocking him down.

"_Squall?" _ Rinoa sent in alarm. She started to turn around but Squall stopped her.

"_Keep your attention forward! I'm fine. Take care of that cockatrice before it causes some real problems here." _ Squall responded, struggling to his feet. The webbing slowed him down somewhat, so it was harder to dodge the caterchipillar. And the double-vision effect from both his and Rinoa's eyes was not helping him at all. Finally he had to shield himself from it so he could concentrate on the creature he was battling and trust that Rinoa could handle her end of things.

He felt her cast several powerful spells in succession, weakening the cockatrice significantly, then the second caterchipillar attacked him. He slashed it twice, pulling the trigger on his gunblade at the same time, killing it instantly. He turned, too slowly, as the other monster attacked, knocking him down and biting him several times. He struggled free, hitting it with a glancing blow from his gunblade while kicking it back, finally gaining his feet and stumbling backwards.

"Damn it!" He swore, glancing down at his bleeding arm. It wasn't bad, the protection spell had held enough that the thing hadn't managed to bite him too deeply, but it stung and worse, it had injected its venom into him.

Then the creature was coming at him again and he only had time enough to summon Shiva to deal with it. The injury, slight though it was, weakened him enough that the gunblade wouldn't be as effective. He could still kill it with the gunblade but it would take longer and Squall didn't have the time to spare. The venom wasn't deadly but it _was_ painful and it _would_ make him sick if he didn't deal with it soon. The last thing he wanted was to deal with _that_ on his birthday of all days. Particularly as there was no reason that he should.

When Shiva manifested and froze the creature into powdery white crystals, Squall turned to help Rinoa with the cockatrice, and felt the cool touch of her magic soothing the burning sting of the caterchipillar's bite.

"_I've got it, don't worry."_ Rinoa reassured him.

Frowning down at his blood-streaked arm and tattered sleeve, Squall said, "Well, we obviously need a little more practice doing this."

"_We_ meaning _you_, right?" Rinoa replied with a small smile.

"Yes." Squall admitted.

"Well, we'll figure it out. Let's go back to the hotel and rest a bit. Then we can figure out what to do with ourselves for the rest of the day." Rinoa said.

"I can think of _one_ thing…" Squall began, prompting Rinoa to laugh and slip her arm around his waist. Squall's arm automatically draped around her shoulders in response and they started back toward the hotel.

"What? I was just thinking about logging into Balamb Garden's network to check in with them." Squall said, frowning slightly.

"Sure," Said Rinoa, smiling at him. He glanced at her and raised his eyebrows.

"Really!" he protested.

Rinoa snorted, "Right. If you say so."

"Well, after a shower that is. I really need to get this web goop off of me, and get into a clean outfit." Squall said as they continued walking.

"And you didn't have _anything_ else in mind?" Rinoa asked him.

"Well, you know you _could_ join me…save water, save time…" Squall suggested, feigning innocence.

"Are you implying that _I_ need a shower?" Rinoa asked him, raising her eyebrows.

Squall paused, frowning slightly, then turned and took Rinoa into his arms, saying softly, "Of course not." He gazed down at her a moment, wondering if she'd simply misread his admittedly awkward attempt at playfulness, and trying not to feel hurt and confused at the same time by her reaction.

"You don't have to you know, if you'd rather do something else," Squall said.

Rinoa's gaze softened, "I can't think of a better way to spend time."

Squall smiled at her, and she tightened her arms around him, resting against his chest. She sighed happily as she felt him rest his cheek against her hair like he always did. She always felt so safe, so protected and so loved when he held her like that.

"Neither can I. Which is why I suggested it." Squall said.

They strolled into the hotel arm in arm, their entire attitude relaxed and happy. Young, attractive, and very obviously in love, they prompted smiles from the patrons of the café and the concierge at the desk when they entered. Until the concierge caught a glimpse at the tattered shirtsleeve and dried blood on Squall's arm.

"Mr. Leonhart?" he gasped, "Are… are you okay? Your arm…"

"It's fine." He said calmly.

"But…" the man began.

"We ran afoul of some nasties. He's fine." Rinoa assured him.

"Oh, if you say so…um, will you be taking dinner here in the café later or shall I have something sent up to your room?" The man asked them.

Squall paused, then sent to Rinoa, _"I don't know why, but for some reason I find this exceeding politeness rather amusing."_

"_Probably because you're used to them being rude to you. Not everyone here is like that you know. And they know who you are now." _Rinoa responded.

"_Maybe," _Squall thought.

"_So? Room service tonight?" _Rinoa asked him. He nodded.

Then she smiled sweetly at the concierge and said, "That would be lovely, thank you."

After telling the man what they would like sent up for their dinner, they continued up to their room. Squall stripped off his shirt after locking the door behind them, and continued into the bedroom, tossing the shirt aside and unbuckling his belts.

Rinoa leaned against the doorframe and simply watched her handsome husband strip, eliciting a grin from him.

"You going to start throwing gil at me?" he asked jokingly. He tossed his gunblade and belts on the bed and unbuttoned his pants. Then he bent down and untied and removed his boots.

"I might, if you shake it a little." She smiled.

"Well," he said, giving her a smoky, seductive look while unzipping his fly. "I'm sorry dear, but _this_ is the best I can manage." He did a slight hip shimmy as he removed his pants. It was both humorous and oddly sexy, and Rinoa sighed.

"You just made my day. I got the rare privilege of watching Squall Leonhart, world savior, SeeD commander and all around stud, do a striptease for me. My life is now complete." Rinoa smiled.

"I'm flattered. Dare I hope that my lovely sorceress wife would be willing to return the favor?" Squall asked as Rinoa came the rest of the way into the bedroom.

Rinoa's cheeks turned pink and she said, "Oh, I don't know… I'm not that good of a dancer…" she began unbuttoning her top.

Squall snorted, "We both know _that_ isn't true." Then he sent, _"C'mon, you know you want to." _

"_Okay. But you know, you won't get the full effect without a pole…" _Rinoa sent, then turned gracefully away, somehow incorporating the move into a coy shrug of the shoulders as she looked back at Squall, then slid her shirt off, whipped it out and dropped it onto the floor.

Spearing her hands up into her hair, Rinoa tilted her head back, then turned back around to face Squall, incorporating a little hip sway into the move as she did. Closing her eyes, she got into the spirit of things and trailed her hands down from her hair, down her neck, over her bra and down to the waistband of her shorts. She teasingly unbuttoned only the top button, gave Squall a seductive look through her lashes, then gracefully bent down to remove her shoes.

Straightening up slowly, and smiling at the evidence that regardless of her "dancing" ability, Squall was enjoying the show, she slowly, teasingly, undid her shorts the rest of the way and drew them off. Tossing them aside, she took a slow step toward Squall, undulating her hips while reaching back and unhooking her bra. Then she did another step and pirouetted, drawing off her bra at the same time. Dropping that, she came to rest facing Squall again with both thumbs hooked into her panties. She slowly worked those off as well, swaying her hips again from side to side as she did.

She let them drop to the floor and gracefully stepped out of them, walking with a dancer's step toward her husband. She could feel his desire burning through her mind, the warm rush igniting her own passion.

"_Gods…. like a drug you are. I can't get enough of you."_ He thought, his passionate need for her coming through and permeating everything.

"_Same here," _Rinoa sent, approaching within arms length and extending her hands to him.

Squall reached out and took her hands in his, drawing her close, then releasing them and wrapping his arms around her. They simply stayed so for a moment, simmering passion placed upon the back burner for the moment while something softer, sweeter came to the fore and held them captive.

Rinoa soaked in his warmth, breathed in his scent, and placed a soft kiss upon his chest over his heart. Squall breathed the scent of her hair, felt its silky smoothness against his cheek, her warm softness against his body, and thought himself incredibly fortunate.

He dropped his arms from around her and recaptured her hands, stepping back and drawing her with him toward the shower.

"Still bent on that shower are you?" Rinoa asked him with a smile.

"Yes," He answered softly, his warm gaze giving away the banked passion that Rinoa could still feel bubbling under the surface. Echoing the physical evidence of his interest.

"_Come on,"_ he sent, turning on the water and adjusting the temperature. Then he opened the shower door and stepped in, bringing Rinoa in with him.

They soaped and rinsed between kisses and caresses, the heat and steam lending a dreamlike quality to it all. They didn't need to speak, each knew what the other needed and wanted, their link leading them to it together. And yes, the sweet, dark passion between them held sway and swept them along as it always did, leaving both panting and spent in its wake.

"One of these days," Rinoa laughed breathlessly, kissing Squall on the tip of his nose, "I'm going to get you into a bubble bath with me. Trust me, you'll have a much easier time of it."

Squall snorted, breathless as well, and said, "Only if you gain weight, which I don't see happening any time soon." Then he leaned forward, still joined with her, still holding her braced against the tiled wall, and gave her one more kiss, this one equal parts tender and passionate.

Rinoa smiled at him when they came up for air, threading her fingers through his wet hair. "Then I'm doubly impressed. It felt like your knees were about jelly there for a moment. I was afraid you'd drop me."

"Never. The most earth-shattering orgasm in the world couldn't make me drop you." He assured her. He smiled at her as she unwound her legs from his waist, supporting her as they separated and she stood on her own feet again.

"Who's got the jelly knees now?" he teased her gently as she clung to him. It was the same for her as for him, and he'd felt her knees going weak just as his had done in that moment.

"Me." Rinoa said, wrapping her arms around him and leaning into his warmth adding, "of course, you always make me weak in the knees."

"Really? Should we have the doctor look into that?" he asked her, tongue firmly in cheek.

Rinoa caught the joke and poked him in the side, saying, "No, because I already know what causes it, and it's all your fault for being so sexy that you make me want to melt."

"Melt? Really? Well, I'm flattered but I prefer you solid. You're much easier to handle." He said, reaching past her to turn off the water.

"Mmmmmm," Rinoa sighed, nuzzling his warm, wet chest and kissing him there. "I love it when you handle me."

Squall laughed at that, saying, "I'm glad." He moved away from her for a moment to open the shower door and grab a towel from the nearby rack, returning to gently pat her face dry with it and then wrap it around her shoulders.

Tracing her cheek lightly with his fingers, then brushing her lower lip with his thumb, Squall said softly, "Time to go back to the real world. There are things still to be done."

Rinoa sighed regretfully and nodded. Squall gave her a small smile, then exited the shower and took a towel for himself.

While he was drying off, Rinoa sent, _"we can return to this place later tonight. Give each other pleasant dreams."_ The emotions she sent along with the message conveyed her true meaning; it wasn't the physical location that she spoke of returning to, but the mental/emotional state that they entered into while making love.

"_Count on it, love. Now however, I really do have to touch base with Quistis and the gang. And the concierge said he'd send up dinner. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get hungry. Would you mind giving him a call to have it brought up?" _ Squall responded, padding out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, toweling his hair dry.

Laying the towel aside, he quickly and efficiently got dressed, biting back a smile as he watched Rinoa digging through the drawer that she'd unceremoniously dumped all of her clothing into.

Catching his amusement, Rinoa glared at him and wagged her finger, warning him, "Not a word from you! I don't want to hear it."

Affecting an innocent expression, Squall held his hands up in surrender, shaking his head while pretending to lock his lips shut and tossing the key.

"Good." Rinoa said, finally finding what she was looking for and beginning to get dressed. "Now go play with your laptop."

As he obediently moved toward the door, he paused and dropped a quick kiss on her head as he went past, sending, _"It's not _playing, _you know that." _

"_Of course I know that, COMMANDER. Now get to work. I'll call in dinner." _Rinoa thought, pulling on a tee shirt.

"_All right. I love you sweetheart." _ He sent, picking up his laptop computer and exiting the bedroom.

"_I love you too." _Rinoa replied.


	3. Chapter 3: III

III.

August twenty-third. Four a.m. Squall lay awake, staring into space, trying to decide if he should get up or stay in bed for another hour. Rinoa shifted with a sigh, snuggling close, sliding an arm and a leg over his body while pillowing her head on his chest. He put his arm around her and stroked her hair lightly, the calluses on his hands catching the silky strands.

Something had awakened him, but he couldn't remember what it was. An odd dream perhaps? He didn't know, but whatever it was it had left him unsettled enough to wake him. Too unsettled to return to sleep. Too unsettled, finally, to remain in bed.

He shifted and Rinoa sighed in her sleep, untangling herself from him and rolling onto her side, facing away from him. She took a deep breath and relaxed back into sleep.

Squall watched her as he had done countless times before, torn between wanting to cuddle close to her, hear her breath, her heartbeat, feel her warmth, or giving in to his odd restlessness and getting up. He wanted to take comfort in her arms, hold her close and let her drive the shadows away like she always did, but… he felt selfish for wanting to disturb her rest.

They'd worked hard, these last few days. No, the monsters that they'd fought hadn't been difficult. Working out their strategy of fighting while mindlinked; _that_ had been the hard part. Mental fatigue, Squall had found, was just as draining as physical fatigue.

Sighing, Squall raised his shields so that his restless mind would not disturb Rinoa. A cold nose nudged at his hand and he turned his head to meet Angelo's bright eyes and pricked ears. A quiet whine communicated the dog's need.

"Okay." Squall whispered, carefully getting out of bed and pulling on a pair of pants and a shirt. Grabbing his boots and a pair of socks, he carried them into the sitting room and sat down to put them on. Angelo sat down next to him, panting quietly.

"You don't need the leash, right?" Squall asked the dog quietly. Angelo tilted his head and whined again, louder this time.

"Didn't think so. Come on." Squall said, standing up and buckling on his gunblade, then heading for the door with Angelo close at his heels.

The dog's claws clicked on the wooden stairs as it followed Squall down them and into the lobby of the hotel. As early at it was, there weren't many people about, though he could hear and smell evidence that the café's kitchen was already beginning preparations for the day.

The warm, homey smell of baking bread made Squall pause a moment and take a deep breath, smiling slightly as he did. Another nudge from Angelo's nose got him moving again and he patted the dog's head apologetically.

They exited the hotel into predawn darkness, gray light from the east just diluting the blackness to violet. Angelo trotted happily up the lane snuffling his way along until he found a spot he liked, off the road and into the trees a bit.

Squall waited while the dog left his calling card, trying to remember what he'd dreamed and why it had awakened him. And why he still had this sense of being pushed….

_Go see her._

Squall froze, frowning. _Sis?_

_Happy birthday, little brother._

_That was you, wasn't it? The dream? This restless feeling that I should be doing something? Your doing? _ Squall asked her, deepening his scowl. She'd changed her tactics, he realized. That was the only thing he could think of to explain why it had taken him so long to recognize her touch.

_I was trying to be subtle. I know how little you like to be pushed. _ She sent.

_You WERE pushing. _He sent, his displeasure plain.

_No, I was NUDGING. _ She replied.

_What's the difference? _He groused, folding his arms across his chest.

_You're still awake. And I'm not trying to change the past anymore._ Ellone answered him. The she urged him, _go and see her Squall. _

He stood rooted in the middle of the lane, his unwilling gaze drawn like a lodestone toward a little knoll that he knew would soon be flooded with the sun's first light.

_I've already been there Elle. It's just a marble plaque and a name. Nothing more. _ Squall sent. He couldn't articulate his reluctance to visit that little plot of ground even to himself. It was too much of a jumble for him to try and sort out.

He didn't understand why people did that, visited gravesites like Ellone was urging him to do. The person that lay under the marker was gone. It would make no difference to them if their families ever visited. And Squall just didn't see the sense of going and staring down at a marble slab, talking to it like it was a person. Like he was expecting an answer back. Even if you loved the person under the slab, they were gone, and all that was left were bones and cold stone.

Rinoa had done that, when he'd reluctantly gone with her to her mother's grave on Remembrance Day. He remembered feeling adrift as he stood there with her, not understanding at all her need to do that, yet being there with her because… Because he could feel her pain, and he could do nothing else _but_ be there for her.

_The dead live in our memories Squall. When we keep them in our hearts, they live forever._ Ellone finally told him.

_The only memories I have of her are the ones you gave me. _Squall sent.

_Go anyway. _Ellone sent firmly, adding another mental nudge for good measure.

Squall shrugged mentally and started to walk, not seeing any reason to be stubborn about it. When he came upon the flower shop, which was just opening up for the day, he followed Ellone's prompting and bought a small bouquet of white lilies.

He reached the little knoll just as the sun finally peeked above the horizon, the beams illuminating the gravesite and flooding it with golden light. Squall stopped, struck by the beautiful sight. He felt Ellone wistfully wish she could see it, and lowered his mental barrier, allowing her to borrow his eyes.

_Thank you brother. It's always so peaceful here…_she sighed. He silently agreed with her and smiled slightly at the flood of love she sent him.

He stepped forward and knelt down, brushing some scattered leaves away from the plaque, revealing the name. He laid the bouquet upon the stone beneath it, smiling slightly at Ellone's silent approval, then stood, brushing off his knees. Squall thought it odd that only Raine's name was on the marker and not the date of her death. Hadn't she died the day she gave birth to him? If there was any _less_ of a reason for him to celebrate this particular day, Squall couldn't think of one.

_Why am I here Ellone? _He asked her.

_Why don't you like to celebrate your birthday anymore? _Ellone asked him in turn.

Squall couldn't answer. Not clearly anyway. There were too many reasons. Vague memories of old pain that he couldn't see clearly yet still lurked in the dark corners of his mind.

_Is it this? _Ellone sent, and suddenly he could clearly remember his fifth birthday party.

Matron had fixed his favorite cake, had managed to find enough candles to put on it, and had decorated it wonderfully, with Selphie and Quisty's help. Squall had watched from the garden anxiously as the girls had helped, hoping that they wouldn't mess it up. And they hadn't. He actually liked the different colored candy sprinkles that Selphie had liberally thrown over the cake, the white frosting nearly obscured by them. Seifer, Zell, and Irvine for once were actually well behaved, more focused on the special treat that they'd all get the share with Squall than any mischief that they could get into.

They had sung the song, Squall had blown out the candles, and he remembered making a wish as he did so. But he'd forgotten what that wish was. Matron had given him a warm, loving hug, and Elle had been unusually close that whole day, playing with him and giving him hugs for no reason. He'd never had a happier day, nor had he felt so special. Not even when the gifts were handed round.

Then…

_It was the last birthday I could share with you brother. Matron had already told me that I had to go away. I wanted to make it as special for you as I could._ Ellone sent sadly.

_I was in Garden by my next birthday. They don't celebrate birthdays there. Not like Matron did at any rate. _ Squall responded.

It was true in a sense. The instructors there were mainly focused on educating the children, the bulk of whom were orphans, which populated the edifice. They weren't parents or relatives that would mark a child's natal day and celebrate it. Those kids that had families or friends that cared would celebrate theirs, and those who had neither always had Everyone's Day at year's end. Quite simply, Squall had gotten out of the habit of celebrating his birthday. Besides, after his last one, his Sis had gone away. He'd had no reason to celebrate _anything_ after that.

The sudden emergence of friends and family to whom that mattered was a little disconcerting to him, even now. After spending so much of his life avoiding people and the complications that they posed, he was now rife with them. And despite the progress he'd made over the last three years, he still hated being the focus of everyone's attention.

_Why did you bring me here Ellone? _Squall asked her again, watching the golden clouds brighten as dawn progressed.

_For resolution,_ She answered.

_There's nothing to resolve. I didn't know her. _ Squall responded.

_I know. _Ellone sent. Squall sensed her sadness at that, and frowned.

_It couldn't be helped Sis. _Squall told her.

_I know Squall. But still, I wish…I wish you knew her the way I did. _ Ellone replied, her sadness deepening into grief.

Squall shifted his weight restlessly, uncomfortable at what he was sensing from his sis. His first impulse was to withdraw in order to avoid that discomfort. He fought that impulse instead, knowing that she needed him there. Even if he didn't know what to do about what she was feeling, he thought he could at least be there for her.

Finally he sent, _I did come to know a little bit about her through Laguna, when you put me into his mind. _

_It was only a brief glimpse, seen through the eyes of an adult. It wasn't nearly enough for you to really know her Squall. _ Ellone thought.

Squall sighed. She was right of course. In the final analysis, the only thing that Squall knew about his mother was her name, the fact that he wore her face, and that she'd loved Ellone like her own daughter. And for some inexplicable reason, had loved Laguna as well, enough to marry him and bear him a son, losing her life as a result.

_She loved you too Squall. For as long as she was able._ Ellone sent, responding to his thoughts. _Let me show you…_

_Sis… Elle, NO. Please…_ Squall protested, knowing what was coming and not liking it one bit.

"Dammit!" he whispered as he felt his knees give way. His vision faded and he was…elsewhere. He knew immediately where Ellone had taken him. He knew the feel of her mind.

_Ellone, _he protested.

_Shhh, brother. Just watch. I promise not to leave you here too long._

He was inside Ellone's four-year-old mind, staring with wide eyes at Raine's tired, sweat-drenched face. She was pale, so pale, her lips nearly white and bloodless as she smiled gently.

"Are yoo okay Raine?" Ellone asked her.

"I'm fine sweetie. Just really tired. It's a lot of work, having a baby." Raine answered her weakly. In the back of Ellone's mind, Squall disagreed, knowing what the younger version of Ellone did not in that moment.

The midwife came in then, handing Raine a tiny, wrapped bundle that squirmed and made soft grunting noises. She helped Raine sit up a little, plumping the pillows behind her to help support her.

Raine then held her hand out to Ellone, asking, "Do you want to see him? Do you want to see your baby brother?"

Ellone nodded eagerly and took Raine's hand, drawing close to gaze down upon the tiny infant. It was definitely an odd sensation for Squall, still a quiet passenger in the toddler's mind, to gaze down upon his newborn self. _Was I really that small? _ He asked himself. How had he managed to survive?

"He's so little," Ellone whispered.

"He was in too much of a hurry to get here. The nurse said he should have waited a couple of weeks to get bigger." Raine told her.

Ellone simply gazed raptly at the baby, entranced by his pink perfection. Then she looked up to see Raine doing the same thing, gently stroking the soft cheek, touching the tiny button nose, and letting his delicate, grasping fingers encircle hers. A single tear tracked unheeded down her cheek.

"He has his daddy's nose," She whispered.

"Uncle Laguna's gonna come back soon. He said he would. He has to, so he can see your baby." Ellone said firmly. Then she asked, "What are you gonna name him?"

"Squall." Raine answered, bending down to kiss the downy head.

"That's a weird name," Ellone began, and Raine smiled at her. She opened her mouth to respond to Ellone's comment but was interrupted.

"Ms. Leonhart, you really need to try and feed him now. I'll bring Ellone back in a little bit if you'd like." The midwife said, returning to the bedroom.

"Okay. Just a moment." Pulling Ellone close, Raine kissed her on the cheek and whispered, "I love you Ellone. Don't ever forget that. And make sure your baby brother knows that I love him too."

The midwife took Ellone by the hand and led her out, but before she left she turned back and waved at Raine and the baby, whispering, "bye-bye baby Squall. I love you." Raine looked up and smiled at her, and Squall clearly heard the younger Ellone's thought that Raine looked just like an angel with the baby in her arms.

Squall's heart broke in that instant.

He came to himself staring down at Raine's gravestone on his hands and knees, knowing that was Ellone's last memory of seeing Raine in life.

"You didn't have to do that," Squall murmured to himself, knowing Ellone could hear him.

_I wish you hadn't. _He thought.

_I wanted you to see how much she loved you. How much we both loved you. _Ellone explained.

_What good does it do me to know what I've missed all my life?_ Squall demanded bitterly, adding, _if this was an attempt to…I don't know, make me want to celebrate my birthday today, it was the wrong way to go about it. If anything, it just makes it worse. Why would I want to celebrate the day my mother died?_

_But, that's just it Squall, it WASN'T the day she died. Laguna didn't know the actual date so he didn't put it on the gravestone. And you just assumed she died the day she gave birth to you because nobody told you anything different. _ Ellone told him.

Squall closed his eyes as Ellone sent him a flood of love and added, _she kissed you good night that night, whispered that she loved you, went to sleep, and never woke up. She died the following morning. So, no brother, she did not die on your birthday. _

Squall sat back on his heels, taking a deep breath and swallowing down the lump that had been left in his throat. Then he simply sat quietly, watching the day brighten, listening to trees rustling in the breeze, the birds that chirped and twittered in those trees. Ellone remained silent, allowing him time to gather his thoughts and process what he felt. Both she and Rinoa had gotten better at that, he reflected. It probably came from them trading notes on how best to manage him.

Angelo found him there and panted up to him, sniffing at his face and giving it a brief lick in greeting. Squall silently motioned the dog to sit, putting his arm around the animal when it did and hugging it close. When he closed his eyes again, he could still see the vision Ellone had shown him: Raine, gazing down at her new baby, _him_, her face reflecting love, joy…. and sadness. Four-year-old Ellone would not have recognized the look in her eyes that Squall had seen. He'd seen it more than once before in the eyes of those he'd fought and mortally wounded.

Raine knew that she was dying, and yet still did her best to let both her adoptive daughter and her newborn son know that she loved them, never letting on that she was slipping away even as she spoke. He had to admire her courage in passing her last moments in the best manner that she possibly could.

Finally he stood, brushing his knees off again. _I need to get back. _He sent.

_I hope you have a good birthday, Squall. You deserve it. _Ellone sent, adding hesitantly, _and…I hope you're not mad at me… _

_I'm not mad. _He reassured her. He started walking down the knoll toward the road.

_What do you have planned for today anyway? Anything fun?_ Ellone asked him.

Squall shrugged, answering, _Well, Rinoa and I have to patrol the town for monsters…_

_Squall! Just this once, take the day off and actually celebrate your birthday! _ Ellone sent in protest.

_You didn't let me finish, sis. I'm going to stop by and check on the guys we were covering for and ask them if they could take over this afternoon. So Rin and I could have it to ourselves. _ Squall clarified.

Reaching the florists shop again, Squall ducked in once more, surprising the elderly woman running it with his reappearance. He smiled to himself slightly at Ellone's approval of the bouquet of velvety red roses he bought for Rinoa.

_You're getting better at that, _Ellone sent in amusement.

_Thanks to you, _Squall responded.

Ellone sent him another burst of love after that, and bade him farewell. As her presence faded from his mind, he wondered how it was that she could link with him even when his shields were up, while Rinoa could not. Perhaps it was something in the manner in which she "connected" with him. He'd have to ask his sister about it the next time they talked.

He made his way to the monster hunter's place to inform them of his plans for the day. Shifting the bouquet of flowers to the crook of one arm, he knocked on the door and waited for the landlady to answer.

It wasn't until she answered the door and blushed, fluttering her eyelashes at him, that he realized how him showing up with a dozen red roses in hand might appear.

He opened his mouth to say… something…. in explanation but wasn't able to get anything out before the landlady gushed, "Oh my, Commander! This is unexpected! Come in!"

Squall stepped in; feeling his cheeks warming as he did, and tried to take control of the situation, but it got away from him again when the woman plucked the bouquet from his arm.

"Uh, wait…" he began.

"I'll just go put these in some water," the woman said, bustling off.

Squall groaned quietly and dropped his face into his hand, mentally kicking himself. He should have waited until _after_ he'd spoken with Jason and Terry before buying the damned roses.

When the landlady returned, smiling coyly at him, Squall sighed.

"So, commander, what brings you here?" she asked him sweetly. She stepped a little closer, and Squall gulped as she invaded his comfort zone. He was a hair from actually stepping back to reclaim some space, but ingrained habit held him firm. A step back was _always_ a sign of weakness, and weakness invited attack…a fact that he'd learned in childhood. So he stood still and fervently hoped that the woman wouldn't see that as an invitation to take things further.

"I'm actually here to see Terry and Jason. Are they here?" Squall asked, only just managing not to betray his discomfort at her proximity.

The woman sighed in disappointment, and answered, "They should be, even when they were working they didn't get up this early."

"Right. I'll just…" he gestured awkwardly toward the rooms the young men used, and the landlady stepped aside to let him by.

He knocked on the nearest of the doors, Jason's he thought, which was confirmed when the young man answered it, yawning.

"Commander Leonhart?" He asked, blinking and rubbing at his eyes. " What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"It's fine. I just need you and your partner to take over the patrols today." Squall told him. "You should both be about ready to take over anyway."

"Yeah, we're fine. You heading back to Balamb?" Jason asked him

"Tomorrow. Today, I just need a little personal time with my wife." Squall answered.

The young man chuckled knowingly and said, "I get it. Don't worry sir, we'll take over from here."

"Thank you," Squall nodded to the young man. He turned to leave and nearly walked into the landlady.

"Excuse me," he said, stepping deftly aside.

"Leaving already?" she asked with a smile. Squall only just managed not to shiver from the sensation that went up his spine at the…_predatory_… look in her eyes. Yeah, she'd _definitely_ gotten the wrong idea about the flowers.

"Uh, yes," Squall said, reaching for the door. "I have things to do."

The woman pouted a bit, then smiled, "Well, I understand you're busy. Feel free to come by any time. I promise not to tell your wife." She winked at him and walked away, a pronounced swing to her generous hips.

Squall escaped to the outdoors and exhaled in relief. Shaking himself off, he headed back to the florist's shop with another sigh. He was beginning to think that opening an account there might be a good idea.


	4. Chapter 4: IV

**IV.**

Squall returned to the hotel with Angelo and _another_ dozen red roses. His third appearance at the little florist's shop to purchase yet more flowers had sparked the elderly owner's curiosity. Becoming increasingly frustrated with her questions, Squall was a hair away from buying _her_ flowers as well, just to shut her up. Fortunately, he hadn't had to go to that length in order to escape.

Entering their room with a relieved sigh, he peeked in the bedroom to find that Rinoa was still sleeping peacefully. It was much earlier than they'd been getting up lately so he wasn't surprised to find her still in bed.

Placing the flowers in their decorative vase upon the dining room table, Squall made sure that the little card included was visible, then took himself off to the bathroom for a shower.

He sighed as he stood under the cascade of warm water, letting it rinse away the tension and emotional upheaval from earlier. He supposed Rinoa felt the same way about a good long soak in the bathtub, but Squall preferred the shower. He liked the way things were washed away, rather than wallowing in them like soaking in the tub. It felt cleaner somehow, not only literally but figuratively as well.

A brush against his mind as he rinsed soap from his hair told him that Rinoa had awakened.

"_You're up early," _Rinoa sent.

"_Angelo had to go out."_ He responded. He smiled at the warm flood of love that Rinoa sent him.

"_Thank you for taking him for me. That was sweet of you," _she sent.

"_You're welcome. Care to join me in the shower?" _He invited while soaping his chest.

"_Not this time sweetie. You're just about done anyway, aren't you?" _she asked him.

"I _am_ done, actually," he said a few moments later, emerging from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

Rinoa yawned and smiled up at him as he sat down beside her on the bed, laughing softly, "so why bother to invite me then, if you were nearly done?"

"I'd have waited for you," He smiled gently.

Rinoa stretched, then reached a hand out to caress Squall's stomach just above the knotted towel, then traced her hand upward. She smiled as she saw his eyes warm, his hand capturing hers and pressing it against his chest as he leaned down toward her.

"Good morning Angel," he murmured softly before he gave her a light, sweet kiss.

"Good morning to you too. And happy birthday." She said happily, adding mentally, _"I've wanted to say that to you for years."_

Squall pressed his forehead against hers and whispered, "I know. And I'm sorry I was so…. stupid about it."

"You had your reasons, I'm sure. I'm just glad that you're here with me and that we can celebrate your birthday properly now. Together." She murmured, reaching up and running her fingers through his still damp hair. She smiled as he sighed and closed his eyes in response to her caress.

"Did you have anything specific in mind?" he asked her softly as he hooked one finger slyly over the top of the sheet that was covering her.

"Aside from a shower, and making you a special treat, anything you want, really." Rinoa said, not having to read his mind to know what he was thinking. It was patently obvious in the way he looked at her and in the way he slowly drew the sheet down to reveal her nakedness.

"Really?" he murmured, face still close to hers. Rinoa drew in a shuddering breath and caressed his smoothly shaven cheek. She breathed in the clean scent of soap and _him_, closed her eyes at the warmth of his breath against her cheek, and trailed her hand lightly down his chest to the towel still knotted at his waist.

"Yes," she whispered, tugging it free. Then a thought struck her and she paused.

"Don't we have to do the patrols today?" she asked.

"No. I talked to Terry and Jason. As of right now, they're on the job, and we aren't." Squall answered her, stealing her response and her breath with a kiss.

"_Come here then," _She encouraged, sliding her arms around him as he joined her on the bed.

She sighed and shivered as he skimmed his lips down her neck to her breasts, using their mindlink to find what pleased her the most. The lightest scrape of his teeth against her nipples made her gasp, then she moaned softly as he teased, suckled and kissed his way back to her lips.

Rinoa speared her hands through his hair again, combing through the cool, slightly damp strands as their lips fused and her eyes drifted shut. She gave herself up to the sensations he evoked; from the arousing penetration of his tongue into her mouth to the warmth of his body as it covered hers. Their minds twined together even as their bodies fused physically, enhancing the experience.

There were no words exchanged. They didn't need them. Each knew what the other wanted and needed, responding to unspoken desires. Hearts pounded and breaths came short as they became caught up in the age-old dance.

Squall stepped up his pace at Rinoa's silent urging, following her to the peak and locking eyes with her as they fell together, watching as they turned golden for him in a reflection of their bond's power.

"_I don't think I'll ever get tired of this,"_ Squall thought, kissing her tenderly in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

"_I certainly hope not. I understand sorceresses live a very long time." _ Rinoa smiled up at him.

Squall shifted to lie on his side facing her, placing a light kiss on her nearest shoulder and caressing her stomach. Rinoa sighed and smiled over at him, then rolled onto her side, facing him, and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

"I'd better go take my shower now. Why don't you do me a huge favor sweetie and run up to the market when you get dressed? There are a few things I need. When you get back, I'll cook you breakfast." She said, rolling away and preparing to get up.

Squall caught her hand, stopping her briefly and kissed the palm, saying, "you don't have to. I'd be more than happy to do that for you."

Rinoa's smile broadened, "I know you would, and I know why. I promise you that I have much improved my culinary skills."

"Indeed you have," Squall acknowledged. "So, what do you want me to get for you?"

"Here's the list," Rinoa said, opening the drawer on the bedside table and taking out a notepad. Pulling a page off, she handed it to him. Then she got off the bed and headed for the shower as he scanned the list.

* * *

Rinoa smiled to herself while completing her shower and drying off. Squall hadn't returned yet from his shopping assignment, so for the moment she was left to herself. Recalling their lovemaking from earlier, Rinoa sighed happily. She'd feared that today of all days, Squall would be at his most difficult. His past behavior regarding his birthday had virtually guaranteed it.

So his loving sweetness this morning was all the more appreciated because of what had gone before. She wondered what had happened to change his attitude.

Once she'd dressed, she wandered into the main room, heading toward the kitchenette to see what there was to work with and stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the bouquet Squall had left on the table. An even dozen of flawless, velvety red roses, set off with white babies' breath sat regally in a crystal vase in the center of the table, with a small white card sitting in the center of the display.

"Oh, Squall…." She breathed as she slowly approached them and picked up the card, reading it. There were only three words written on it, in Squall's distinctive hand:

_I love you._

The words blurred as tears welled up in Rinoa's eyes. In typical Squall fashion, he'd said what needed to be said without any extraneous words included. She found that she loved that about him. Then she started laughing, wiping the tears from her eyes, as she realized that _also_ typical of him, Squall had done the exact reverse of what one would normally do on his birthday. With the exception of course being their romantic interlude that morning.

"I love this man," She whispered to herself, then sent a tendril of thought out to him, letting him know of her feelings.

"_I take it you found the roses?" _he responded, amusement coloring his response.

"_I did, you silly goose. You've gone and bought me roses on YOUR birthday. It's supposed to be the other way around!" _ She sent. His amusement deepened.

"_You're supposed to buy ME roses?" _ He asked her. Rinoa couldn't help but laugh out loud at the genuine confusion that was included with his response.

"_Not exactly," _She explained. _"Just whatever gift you would like for your birthday."_

_"Oh, yeah. I vaguely remember something like that being included with the whole birthday thing."_ He sent.

Rinoa frowned slightly, wondering if he was playing with her or of he seriously had forgotten all about his past birthdays. With Squall, it was hard to tell. So many of his past memories were dimmed and all but forgotten, GF use along with his efforts to forget eroding them quite handily. That saddened her, and made her all the more determined to make _this_ birthday something he'd _want_ to remember.

She hoped that he'd like the gift she'd gotten for him. _That_ had been the most nerve-wracking thing about this entire plan. Getting the assignment set up and their suite booked was dead easy by comparison. But despite having come to know Squall intimately in the three years that they'd been together, and growing even closer to him after they'd married, she _still_ had no idea what he'd like as a gift. So, she hoped her best guess would suffice.

_"I hope you like what I got for you…"_ Rinoa sent, suddenly feeling very uncertain about it. What if he didn't like it?

_"I'm sure it will be fine,"_ Squall sent. Why wouldn't it be? It wasn't as if he'd expected anything anyway. The mere fact that she'd even thought of that warmed him however.

He returned soon after that and put the items away, then approached Rinoa and took her into his arms.

"So," he asked, kissing her on the forehead. "What do you plan on cooking for breakfast?"

"I figured I'd stick with something easy. Hard to mess up eggs and toast." Rinoa answered, smiling up at him.

He smirked slightly, but to his credit, simply said, "Very true. Well, if you're sure you don't need my help, I'm going to log into Garden Network and touch base with them."

"Go ahead. I'll call you when it's ready." Rinoa said confidently. Squall gave her a soft, lingering kiss before he went into the spare room that he'd set up as a temporary office.

Among the many amenities of the suite Rinoa had selected was a small, two-cup coffeemaker with a local house blend included. Cooking utensils had been provided per her request by the management, and the kitchenette even boasted a little dishwasher.

So, properly equipped, Rinoa started the coffee, and began cooking the eggs. The toast didn't take long to cook, and it was only a matter of minutes before breakfast was completed for the both of them. Setting the plates on the table, and admiring the way they looked with the glorious roses as a centerpiece, she left to tell Squall that breakfast was ready.

"Squall?" She asked, walking into the room he'd set up as his office and placing her hand gently on his shoulder.

"Hm?" He responded, apparently absorbed in something he was reading.

"Breakfast is ready," she told him, running her hand along his shoulder and up into his lengthening hair. She never tired of playing with it; the thick, silky texture fascinated her.

"Alright." He said, shutting the laptop and following her to the dining room. Eggs, toast and coffee greeted him, and he snorted quietly as he glanced over and saw Angelo crunching happily at his kibble.

As they sat down to eat, Squall commented, "This looks good, Rin. Thanks."

She laughed softly, "don't sound so surprised. I told you I've been practicing."

"I know you have," Squall said, reaching for her hand. "And I'm not at all surprised. Sorry if it sounds that way." He squeezed it briefly before releasing it and picking up his fork.

"Can I ask you a question?" Rinoa began, prompting Squall to pause while he chewed and swallowed the bite of egg that he'd just taken.

"Of course," He answered. "What is it?"

Rinoa hesitated, thinking of the best way to word the question that she wanted to ask. Squall waited patiently as she formulated her inquiry.

"Why don't you like to celebrate your birthday?" Rinoa asked. "I always looked forward to mine, even when they weren't all perfect. I still look forward to them."

Squall grimaced, knowing she would eventually get around to asking that question.

He sighed, poking idly at his breakfast as he considered his response, finally answering, "I guess mainly because…. I didn't feel that there was any reason to celebrate anything after Sis left. Then I came to Garden and just never bothered with it. They don't actually celebrate birthdays there. Not really. I mean, if you've got friends or family that care then _they_ will but Garden usually doesn't…I suppose I just got out of the habit, and after awhile it didn't matter anymore."

Rinoa could guess at the rest of his reasons for avoiding everyone on his birthday. He was never comfortable being the center of attention and suddenly having a group of people wanting to descend upon him, invade his personal space and foist their celebratory raucousness upon him was bound to send him looking for the nearest escape. And being the SeeD Commander at Balamb Garden certainly didn't help matters. _Everyone_ would want to be involved in the celebration. Rinoa sighed softly to herself at this. As much as his friends cared about him, and as well as they _thought_ they knew him, they still, for the most part, didn't truly understand him.

"I don't mind celebrating it with you though," Squall said, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. Then he brought it to his lips and gently kissed the palm, adding, "Just the two of us. As far as birthdays go this is…. perfect."

Rinoa smiled at him, eyes sparkling. Squall squeezed her hand and decided that he'd do anything and everything in his power to keep her happy enough that he'd see that beautiful, radiant smile of hers more often.

Then Rinoa frowned slightly and bit her lip, asking, "Um… did you want a birthday cake? I.. I guess I should have asked but I wanted to surprise you and then I couldn't get it to come out right and pretty much gave up on it …"

For some reason, her anxiety on his behalf struck Squall as both adorable and endearing, and he reassured her, "No Rin, I don't really care about cake, so it's okay you didn't manage to bake or get one for me. I do appreciate the thought though."

More than that, in fact. Rinoa taking the time and effort to attempt to bake a cake, even if it didn't turn out, warmed his heart and made him fall even deeper in love with her. He let her see it in the soft smile he gave to her, feel it in the love he sent through their link to her. Her smile increased its brilliance and Squall momentarily forgot about pretty much everything else. Including his breakfast.

Suddenly Rinoa laughed, "You're so cute, the way you're staring at me."

Feeling his cheeks warm, Squall finally returned his attention to his breakfast and said, "Can't help it."

"Me neither," Rinoa replied warmly. Squall gave her a quick glance and a small smile.

They decided on a walk after breakfast, Angelo happily trotting ahead of them. The morning had advanced by then, well on toward noon. A fitful breeze cooled them as the day warmed, approaching the temperature typical of a late summer day in that region. It was warm enough already that Squall had left off his jacket, and Rinoa had dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a white tank top.

She looked cool, cute and sort of…summery. Squall knew he probably looked about as besotted with her as he felt, and didn't actually care that he was so obviously in love with her. He also couldn't help a small, wicked shot of amusement at the glances that she was getting from the few young men that still resided in Winhill, glances that were quickly turned away when they met Squall's alert gaze.

Squall would have thought that there wasn't much to be seen in Winhill, picturesque though it was, but he was wrong. Rinoa spent more than a few moments with the owner of the florist's shop, chatting her up and then wandering around the store itself, studying and sighing over the beauty and variety of the flowers and plants offered. Then she led him toward Raine's old pub and visited with the artist that lived there now, somehow finding a kindred spirit in the woman as they talked about the different pieces that were on display there.

She seemed to be keenly interested in them both, but the way she studied Squall became a little discomfiting to him, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief when Rinoa decided to move on to something else.

They strolled along a lane between two fields, one growing acres upon acres of beautiful flowers, the other appearing to be cultivated with more prosaic but equally important corn. It was approaching the border between the town's environs and the wilder forest beyond, and Squall began to wonder if Rinoa had berry picking in mind. If so, he was about to suggest they come back later, as they had nothing with which to carry the fruit.

Before he could however, Angelo pricked up his ears, growled, and took off toward the forest.

Squall met Rinoa's eyes, both knowing what Angelo's behavior signaled, and drew his gunblade, charging after the dog. Rinoa followed at his heels, linking with him and invoking her power at the same time.

_"Ready Rin? Just like we practiced now, remember?"_ Squall sent to her as they ran.

_"I remember,"_ she responded confidently.

They followed Angelo's barks to a clearing, and Squall took in the situation at a glance. Terry and Jason were both battling a cockatrice and a caterchipillar, and handling themselves pretty well. Squall was inclined to leave well enough alone, and let the young men do the job that they were being paid for, but Angelo's attention was directed elsewhere, not on the battle that was in progress.

The dog's barks and snarls and quick, darting snaps, were keeping at bay a large wendigo. Every time it tried to evade the dog to attack the two monster hunters, Angelo headed it off and kept it back. So far, despite the monster's increasingly aggressive attacks, the dog's agility helped it to elude the wendigo and avoid injury.

Squall nodded silently at this, then called out to the two young men, "Terry, Jason. A wendigo's trying to flank you. Our dog's been keeping it off your back. Continue with what you're doing and we'll take care of it."

Terry glanced over at them, surprised eyes widening as he saw the wendigo, "Where the hell'd _that_ come from?"

"Just keep your attention to the opponent in front of you. Rinoa and I will handle this." Squall said sternly, and the young man gulped as he narrowly escaped an attack from the cockatrice he was fighting.

Jason glanced over quickly as well, and both young men responded, "Right!" Then the redirected their attacks to the creatures they were currently fighting, confident that Squall and Rinoa had their backs.

_"Okay Rinoa, call Angelo back and start with protection spells. Yourself first, if you would please."_ Squall directed, readying for the wendigo's attack, which he knew would come as soon as the dog was called off.

_"All right,"_ Rinoa confirmed, eyes flaring golden as her power was activated. Squall felt the rush of power, the cool touch of her magic as the spells were cast, then his attention was taken up completely by the wendigo as it charged him.

Mindful of the young men behind him who already had their hands full, Squall charged at the monster as well rather than stepping aside and deflecting its attack. Quickly readying a strong firaga spell as he ran, he was just about to sheathe his gunblade to cast it when a blast of fire from Rinoa's direction knocked the monster back several feet, giving him more room to maneuver without fear of impeding the other combatants in the clearing.

_"Thanks Rin,"_ he sent, tightening his grip on his gunblade and bringing it back for a killing stroke.

_"You're welcome,"_ She responded.

The wendigo roared and scrambled to its feet, launching itself at Squall, long arms spread wide. Squall adjusted the angle of his swing as he drew closer to the charging creature, aiming for the juncture of neck and shoulder. The full power behind Lion Heart's deadly arc met the momentum of the charging wendigo, biting deeply into the thick neck. The wounded monster roared in pain and flailed its arms wildly, knocking Squall down, forcing him to pull his gunblade free before he could fire it.

Squall used the momentum from the wendigo's blow and rolled quickly to his feet, meeting the creature's second attack with another powerful blow from Lion Heart, this time managing to pull the trigger as well and finish it off.

Flicking the monster's blood from his gunblade, he rested it on his shoulder, unwilling to sheathe it until he gave it a proper cleaning. Then he turned around to face the awed stares of Winhill's two monster hunters and the amused gaze of his wife.

_"Have fun?"_ She teased, catching his smug satisfaction at dispatching the wendigo so handily.

_"As a matter of fact, yes, I did."_ He responded. Rinoa simply laughed, knowing why he'd killed the wendigo with such prejudice.

"Holy…. You're …you're not even winded!" Jason exclaimed.

"Well, actually, I am, a little…" Squall said breathlessly.

"Not much," Terry, the other monster hunter observed.

Squall shrugged, "well, I guess this takes care of your wendigo problem, for now at least. This guy was pretty big so I'm guessing it'll be awhile before another one moves into his territory."

"Well, thanks for helping us. And I'm sorry that it interrupted your personal time…" Jason said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. We just happened to be in the area. Looked like you had everything else handled pretty well." Squall said.

"I have to say, it's pretty awesome to see you wielding that thing up close," Terry commented, indicating Lion Heart.

Rinoa had noticed the young monster hunters admiring Squall's gunblade, and bit back a smile when he started discussing its capabilities and his techniques with them. He may not be much in the way of conversation in the normal run of things, but get into a discussion about weapons and tactics with him and he'll have plenty to say then.

It was kind of interesting however to compare this man with the boy he'd been only a few years ago. At his core he was the same Squall he'd always been…but at the same time he'd matured as well into someone that was a little more open and accessible than he'd been in the past.

Seeing him occupied with the two monster hunters for the moment, Rinoa saw this as an opportunity to start cooking his special treat, so she sent him a quick message:

_"Squall, I'll meet you back at the room. I'm going to get started with dinner."_ Rinoa told him.

_"I'm almost done here Rin,"_ he told her, frowning slightly as she approached and slid her arm around his waist for a quick hug.

_"Nonsense. Don't you have some final details to discuss, a debriefing if you will, before you officially complete the hire?"_ Rinoa reminded him.

Squall sighed softly,_ "You're right. Ok, I guess I'll meet you at the hotel when I'm done."_

She tightened her arm around his waist and he bent down and gave her a light kiss on her hair. Then she turned away and headed toward the hotel, smiling at herself as she sensed Squall's inner conflict. She silently reassured him that all would be well and hinted that there was a specific reason she wanted to be left alone for a moment. She almost laughed aloud when his concern deepened.

_"Oh, Squall, really? I promise you, it'll be fine!"_ She sent, letting him feel her slight twinge of annoyance at his response. He subsided apologetically and gently withdrew.

He mild annoyance faded at the prospect of creating something for Squall's birthday that he might actually enjoy, and she hurried back to the hotel, eager to get started.

* * *

Squall hurried back to the hotel, feeling rather chagrined at how long it had actually taken to wind things down with the two monster hunters. They'd kept asking him questions about Lion Heart and his other gunblades, and he found himself chatting away with them, warming to the subject and completely losing track of time. Then of course they'd had discuss the completion of the contract, since it ended a day earlier than intended. When all parties had been satisfied (and Squall assured them that he'd send his report to their mutual employer…which in this case was his father), he finally felt free to return to the hotel.

He had contacted Rinoa a couple of times, apologizing for taking so long but receiving nothing but a rather distracted reassurance that she didn't mind. He got a distinct sense of "don't bother me I'm busy," from her, probably because she was concentrating on cooking. At least he _hoped_ she was concentrating on it…

He kicked himself mentally at that thought (and hoped Rinoa hadn't caught it). She'd worked hard at learning how to cook, and had made a great deal of progress. He still teased her about it occasionally, and made it clear that her ability to cook or lack thereof had no bearing whatsoever on what he expected of her as his wife. He was perfectly happy performing that duty himself or, if time didn't permit it, ordering out.

But it _did_ make him feel more than a little…well…_special_…that she was willing to take that on for him. It left him with the resolve that regardless of the results; he'd make sure that Rinoa knew he sincerely appreciated her efforts.

As he mounted the stairs to their room (completely missing the alarmed stares of the staff as he'd strolled casually through the hotel's lobby with his still unsheathed and blood-smeared gunblade resting on his shoulder), he sensed both satisfaction and happiness from Rinoa, and concluded that whatever she'd tried to accomplish in the kitchen had come off as intended.

Upon reaching the door to their room, he opened it, saying, "Sorry it took me so long coming back…" while carefully laying his gunblade aside, intending to give it a thorough cleaning before he put it away for the night. Before he could do or say anything else, Rinoa (who'd taken advantage of his momentary inattention) took his face between her hands and pulled him into a kiss.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart." She told him with a brilliant smile.

Squall rested his forehead against Rinoa's, threading his fingers through the silky hair at the nape of her neck while his own smile slowly made its appearance. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't heard those words from anyone in a _very_ long time.

"Thank you, again." He responded softly. Then his smile broadened into a grin as he asked her, "So, what did you end up making for dinner?"

Rinoa pulled back and took both of his hands, towing him backwards toward the dining room, answering, "well, I _wanted_ to make your favorite, but…"

"But it's the fried fish and chips at the Seaside Café." Squall finished for her, eyes sparkling as he followed her lead.

"Right. There's no way I could take that on and do it justice. Besides that, deep-frying anything is _messy_. I wouldn't be willing to attempt it at home, much less here; certainly not with the tools I had on hand." Rinoa said.

"So…?" Squall prompted, guessing already from the mouth-watering smell what dinner actually was.

"So, it's the steaks you got for me, of course, and since I had no idea how long you'd take, rather than baked potato, I did steamed veggies." Rinoa answered him, releasing his hands and slipping her arm around his waist and leaning into him.

"Not carrots, I hope." Squall said, and Rinoa laughed.

"No, of course not. I should know by now how much you hate them. No, it's steamed broccoli." She said.

"Sounds good," Squall said, kissing the side of her head.

She smiled up at him and said, "go sit down and I'll get it."

"Not a chance. I'll help." Squall said. Rinoa paused, then shrugged. He never did seem comfortable with just sitting down to dinner until she was sitting across from him.

"Okay," She said, taking two plates with their dinners already dished up and bringing them to the table. "How about you open the wine then?"

"Alright," Squall said, getting out a couple of goblets and picking up the bottle.

As he opened it, he commented, "Nice vintage." He brought the bottle and the two glasses to the table and set the opened bottle onto the table to allow it time to breathe. Then he pulled a chair out for Rinoa.

"Compliments of the hotel. They insisted when they learned it was your birthday." She smiled up at him and sat down.

Squall snorted as he came around the table to take the chair opposite Rinoa, saying, "And I'm pretty certain there's yet another bottle of Trabian Ice Wine waiting for me in Balamb when we get back."

Rinoa laughed softly at that. "Headmaster Tarvin is such a nice man. I do hope you let him know how much you appreciate his annual gift."

"I have," Squall reassured her, then picked up the wine bottle, raising his eyebrows inquiringly at Rinoa. She nodded and picked up her goblet. She inhaled deeply, appreciating the wine's bouquet as it was poured. Squall did the same while pouring his, then took a small sip.

"_Very_ nice," he commented, setting his glass down and picking the bottle up again for another look at the label. "I'll have to remember that one."

"Oh yes, definitely," Rinoa agreed after taking a sip.

Setting the bottle down again, Squall finally turned his attention to his dinner, glancing up briefly to smile at Rinoa, "This looks wonderful Rin."

She still bit her lip anxiously as she watched him cut into the steak and take a bite. Had she overcooked it or undercooked it? Suddenly she couldn't remember if Squall liked his steaks rare, medium rare or what. What if she'd ruined it?

_"It's perfect sweetheart. Now stop worrying and eat your dinner. Your anxiety is putting MY stomach in knots."_ Squall sent to her mentally, surprising her with a wave of calm, dispelling her worries.

_"I'm sorry,"_ she sent contritely, caressing his hand lightly before turning to her own dinner.

"I didn't know you knew how to do that," Rinoa commented.

Squall chuckled softly, "I _do_ pay attention to you sometimes Rin."

Rinoa smiled at him then, and raised her glass saying, "I almost forgot something very important."

"Oh? And what might that be?" Squall asked, wondering what she intended.

"To surviving your first twenty years. Here's hoping we get all the rest of them together." Rinoa intoned, eyes shining. Squall suddenly found himself unable to speak, so he gently clinked his glass against hers and took a sip to swallow down the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat.

Rinoa smiled gently as she sensed his feelings and remained silent, while he composed himself and they resumed eating.

When they were finished, Rinoa asked him eagerly, "are you ready for dessert?"

Squall gave her a puzzled look and asked, "There's more?"

"Of course! It's not a proper birthday without a special treat!" Rinoa announced, taking his plate before he could say anything else and carrying it and her own to the sink.

"The whole day's been a special treat so far," Squall replied, causing Rinoa to turn and beam brilliantly at him.

"Well," she said, striking a match. The sharp, momentary whiff of sulphur and ozone distracted Squall, bringing up memories of birthday candles. "I could only find one candle, and I didn't bake a cake because I didn't know if you liked them or what kind to bake…. but I hope this will do."

Then Rinoa turned around and showed him what she'd been working on, and Squall burst into laughter.

"Seriously? Oh, Rin that is _perfect_!" he said, still chuckling as she brought the giant, pizza sized chocolate chip cookie to the table and set it down.

"You know, this really wasn't as easy as I'd thought it'd be either, but yeah, I like this idea better than a cake." Rinoa smiled, sitting back down.

Before Squall could do anything however, Rinoa said firmly, "Now we gotta sing the song, make a wish, and blow out the candle."

Squall shook his head, "no we don't."

"Yes we do." She insisted.

"We really don't." he countered.

"We really do." She said stubbornly.

"We're not kids anymore Rinoa," Squall told her gently.

Undaunted, Rinoa reached over and took his hand, saying, "Parts of us still are. You don't have to sing if you don't want to Squall, I'll do it. You just think about what you want to wish for."

"What if I already have everything I could ever want?" Squall asked her softly.

"Then tell the universe thank you." She replied, squeezing his hand. Before he could respond further, she started to sing.

Squall sat and listened to her and watched the golden flickering light of his single birthday candle sparkle in her eyes. And yes, he _did_ thank God, Hyne, the universe, whatever name one applied to the power that bestowed such good fortune upon people. When she'd finished singing, he simply closed his eyes and blew out the candle.

As Rinoa began cutting the cookie into wedges, Squall said softly, "I know it's kind of strange that I bought you flowers on my birthday, but you deserved them."

"Thank you Squall," Rinoa smiled at him and gave him a small plate with a wedge of cookie on it. Then she asked him, "why?"

"Because," Squall sighed, "Because I'm not perfect, but you married me anyway. And because I love you."

Rinoa's smile grew in brilliance and she replied, "I love you too. Now eat your cookie."

Squall obligingly took a bite, and smiled at Rinoa, "this is great. Much better than cake any day."

"I remembered how much you liked it when I made you cookies in Esthar just before we got married, and I thought this would be a cool idea. I'm glad you like it." Rinoa felt like she was about to bubble over with joy at that moment. So far Squall was as happy as she'd ever seen him, and she was just as happy that she'd had a hand in bringing that to him.

Then she leaped up and said, "I almost forgot!" Squall blinked in surprise at her sudden change in direction and stared bemusedly after her as she hurried from the room.

She returned quickly with a small, flat, silver-wrapped box.

"So, um… here." she said, biting her lip briefly before handing him the box. "I hope you like it."

Squall absently took another bite of his cookie wedge, prompting Rinoa to smile at his obvious enjoyment of the treat, and then he picked up the box and turned it over and over, studying it carefully. Dimensions were ten inches long, about three wide, one inch deep. It was beautifully wrapped; Rinoa had done a near professional quality job of it, and Squall intended to tell her so.

He felt…too much in that moment. It was just a small gift, one given by someone who loved him on his birthday. As simple, and as monumental, as that. He didn't care what Rinoa had given him, it didn't matter; she'd already given him more than he'd ever thought he'd deserve. But he couldn't stop the almost childlike joy that welled within him as he considered the fact that Rinoa's gift was the first he'd received since he was five, just before Ellone had left. Well, not counting Headmaster Tarvin's annual bottle of ice wine, but that was different.

"Squall? Are you going to open it?" Rinoa asked, smiling at his absorbed fascination.

Squall glanced up quickly and smiled at her, answering, "Yes of course. You've done such a good job of wrapping it though, I don't want to tear it up."

"Well, if you want to see what's inside, you'll have to." Rinoa encouraged him.

"I know that," Squall replied. Slowly, carefully, he unwrapped the package and set aside the virtually intact wrapping, then opened the box.

"This is…" Squall frowned, studying the contents. "Amazing."

A perfect reproduction of his Lion Heart gunblade in miniature rested within the box upon a square of white velvet. It was just shy of nine inches long, and looked exactly like his gunblade down to the smallest detail, including even the sheath it rested within and the charm on the hilt.

Pulling it free of the sheath, he studied the blade, the hilt, and the overall construction, finding to his surprise that the blade was in fact lethally sharp and sturdy enough that it could double as a dagger.

"Where did you _get_ this?" Squall asked Rinoa, awed at the sheer craftsmanship that the blade displayed.

"Well…I had it made. I was tidying up one day and ran across a bit of leftover adamantine from when you had Lion Heart made. I got this idea of using it to make another, smaller version of it. I thought it might make a nice letter opener. When I talked to Zell about it he was all for doing the job himself. He had just enough left over silver to make the hilt and other metal bits, and was happy to do it since he didn't get the chance to make me a ring." Rinoa explained.

Squall stared at her. "Zell _made_ this?"

"Yes. He even sewed the sheath himself." Rinoa said. "So, technically, this gift is from the both of us."

"No. It was your idea." Squall insisted softly. "Zell did the work, true, but it was at your direction. This gift is from you. And it's beautiful. Thank you." Returning the gunblade-letter opener to its sheath, he laid it back down upon its bed of velvet and closed the box.

Reaching his hand out to Rinoa, he said, "Come here." When she took his hand, he pulled her over to sit on his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

Then he hugged her close and whispered, "This was the best birthday ever."

Rinoa hugged him back and rested her head against his for a moment, sighing. She let the moment soak into her being while stroking her hand through Squall's hair. Then she kissed his hair lightly, and searched for and found his lips, giving him a lingering kiss there.

Pulling back she smiled down at him and asked, "So, think you'll be up to having your family over for your birthday next year?"

"I don't know, I'll have to think about it. But…maybe." Squall answered her.

"That's good enough for me." Rinoa told him.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: I really busted my hump to get this posted on Squall's birthday and almost made it. I managed to get the first chapter posted this morning and uploaded the rest after I got home from work...and darned if I didn't forget my comments at the end. So I'm gonna have to repost chapter IV...sorry, I was distracted by ramen. I love ramen. Ramen is good...you can put anything in it and its cheap and easy to fix... sorry. Anyway, this is my last submission for the WIB challenge.

I now have an AU fic that I just about HAVE to write... darn those plot bunnies!


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